


Iron

by Fuckup101



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/F, Gore, Graphic Violence, M/M, Magic, Minor Original Character(s), Nudity, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Torture, War, battles, other things I'm probably forgetting, who die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 11:52:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11104032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fuckup101/pseuds/Fuckup101
Summary: When someone steals your birthright, you fight. When someone brings death to your people, you fight. When someone destroys everything you love, you fight. Peace is something only the privileged can afford, and in this world, "The privileged" are a thing of the past.��[Warning: When I say Aomine and Kagami are enemies, I mean it.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from a song called "Iron" by Woodkid. I think it really catches the feeling of the story I'm trying to write.

Kagami felt his blood freeze in his veins. Terror gripped his heart. Suddenly, the armor he was wearing weighed too much. The helmet covering his face didn’t let him breath. The arm that held his shield trembled and the spear on his other hand couldn’t stand as straight as it should.

The earth trembled under his feet. Half a mile ahead, a thousand horses marched towards them. The spears their riders carried shone in the faint light, banners flapping in the air. War drums resonated through the meadow. The sky was covered with dark clouds and the vultures circled over the field of battle.

The troops of Kagami's father, the king of Seirin, stretched left and right as far as the eye could see. The archers, behind the main body of the army, the pikemen, in tightly closed phalanx formations of sixty-four by sixteen men, light cavalry on the far-left flank, and the elite heavy infantry, were the young prince was, on the right.

Behind them was the castle. What had been his home for the past sixteen years. Where his mother and father were waiting. Where every woman, man and child who couldn’t fight was waiting.

The banners of the Empress flapped again, in front of them. The pink rose of the Kesian Empire fluttered in the wind, surrounded by the green dragon of Shutoku, and the iron fist of Touou, and several others the prince did not recognize. Kagami could see the shape of the enemy generals riding ahead of the massive Kesian force. There were five of them, in dark green, blue and black armors. The vibrant colors of their crests made them more visible. More terrifying.

“Courage, little brother” Kagami heard to his side. “Remember what I taught you.”

Kagami's head turned, and suddenly his brother's soft brown eyes filled his field of vision. The older prince of Seirin patted his younger brother on the shoulder, and despite Kagami not being able to see his face, he could almost see his smile under the heavy bronze helmet he wore.

“How do you do it, Akira?” Kagami asked. His voice was rough, having been silent for the past three hours.

“Do what?” Kagami's brother inquired, in an amused tone.

“Not be afraid.”

The young prince heard a chuckle.

“Only a fool wouldn’t be afraid. Just focus, little brother. It's just another exercise.”

The enemy army suddenly stopped, barely four hundred yards from the Seirin troops. Kagami swallowed, and gripped his spear tightly. He registered the fact that the man next to him had started to jump up and down slightly, with a clinical state of mind. The fear was gone, replaced by tense expectation.

A Kesian general adorned with a deep blue helmet crest started barking orders unintelligibly, and then rode off to the left towards one of his comrades, a warrior in ornate armor and sporting a light red crest on his helmet which had the shape of a roaring lion. The three other commanders in their own flashy armors and crests did the same, and started discussing something. Kagami wished he knew what they were saying, but they were too far away.

Kagami was a prince. He had been raised to fight, to lead, to kill, since he was old enough to hold a sword. Yet now, on his first battle, instead of being filled with courage and righteous strength, he was simply wishing he could go back behind the walls of his home and seek the comfort of his mother’s arms.

The general with the deep blue crest rode back to his troops, and the wind carried cheers and roars coming from the enemy army, saluting their commander. Thunder echoed up above, as if the gods themselves were impatient for the carnage to start. Shouts filled Kagami's ears as the rest of the Kesian generals returned to their original positions, gesturing frantically and rallying their troops as loudly as they could.

Kagami heard his brother take a deep breath.

“LISTEN UP!” Akira roared, his powerful voice carrying across the infantry line. “WHATEVER COMES AT US, WE WILL NOT BREAK FORMATION! THAT IS OUR JOB, AND I HAVE YET TO SEE ONE OF SEIRIN'S ELITE NOT DO THEIR JOBS PROPERLY! DO NOT BREAK THE FUCKING LINE!”

Kagami was so close to his brother that the boom of his words resonated too strongly in his ears.

“NOW, WE ARE GOING TO TEACH THOSE HORSE FUCKERS JUST WHO THEY'VE DECIDED TO MESS WITH!” he bellowed, pointing at the enemy cavalry right in front of them, his spear gleaming in the cold morning light.

There was a roar of strained laughter across the line, and then the Seirin warriors all began to bang their weapons and shields together. Similar roaring and banging of shields was heard from the other phalanx formations.

“THEY WILL RETURN TO THEIR PUTRID LANDS, WITH THEIR WHORE EMPRESS!” Kagami's brother continued.

The swishing of spears in the air replaced the shouting and roaring for a few moments.

“STAND YOUR GROUND! HONOR YOUR KING!” Akira paused to take another breath, and then bellowed again: “HONOR YOUR QUEEN! AND HONOR YOUR LAND! FOR SEIRIN!!”

The roar was deafening. Kagami felt the adrenaline starting to punch through his veins, and he was surprised to realize he was banging his spear into his shield as well, and shouting as hard and as loud as everyone else was.

And without a warning, it started.

Kagami saw the horses in front of the hoplite formation start to move again. His eyes went wide, his throat dried up, his blood roared in his ears.

Orders were barked. The phalanx made ready in unison. Half a step forward, half a step to the right. At two hundred yards, the enemy charge picked up the pace. They moved together, as one. The ground rumbled, hooves thundered across the plain, and the enemy cavalry picked up the pace once again moving even faster than before.

Another order echoed throughout the phalanx, and Kagami lowered his spear, and squared his shield so that it would overlap with the one to his left. Behind them, archers released their arrows. Many of the enemy horsemen fell, chests, throats and heads pierced by the deadly hail falling onto them. Yet they were still coming. Kagami couldn’t rip his eyes away from the deep blue crest of the enemy cavalry commander. The man's helmet was closed, with a falling buffe, so only a pair of deep blue eyes could be seen, and the horse, an enormous charger, was black as night.

Kagami and the rest of the warriors in the phalanx tensed their muscles, trying to prepare themselves for what was coming. He saw how the enemies lowered their own cavalry spears. The prince's eyes went wide in shock when he understood that the spears of the enemy horsemen were much longer than their own two and a half meter ones. This realization burned in his brain for only half a second before the impact.

He heard his brother cry out an order, and then the world disappeared in a blur of grey, white and blue. The hit was like trying to stop an avalanche with just his bare hands. His left shoulder dislocated almost immediately, and a scream emerged from the depths of his lungs. The long spear he held snapped in two, after sinking into the chest of a horse, and half a second later, it was no longer in his hand. Another blur of movement fell upon him, and this time, his feet didn't support him.

Kagami fell to the ground, and just as he was going to be crushed beneath the hooves of a horse, he rolled away. The prince blinked tears away from his eyes, and tried to get up. Something warm hit his face and a horrible crunch filled his ears. Kagami was sprayed with blood and bits of bone and brain as another horse cracked the skull of a not so fortunate soldier. They had crushed the line without even making an effort.

More horses passed Kagami by, smashing what was left of their ranks. Spears impaled whoever stood in their way, piercing armor, clothes and meat in a single strike.

Kagami moved more by instinct than by rationality. He unsheathed the sword on his belt. A man came at him. The sweat of the horse and the breath of the beast, was overwhelming, and suddenly, the young prince had a spear pointed right at his heart. Kagami moved to the side and brought his sword down with all his might.

It hit the horse’s neck violently. The animal neighed, its eyes so wide in pure terror that Kagami thought they would pop out of their sockets. And then, the animal fell to the ground. The rider flew from it, and landed head first into the grass. The crack was sharp and dry. He was dead.

Kagami looked at the man he’d just killed and was surprised to realize that he felt nothing. There wasn’t any joy, any regret, he felt empty. Kagami heard a cry to his side and then he was facing another rider. He was sweating like he had never sweated before. Kagami managed to throw the rider off of the horse by cutting the beast's front legs off, and then rushed forward to finish the job.

The soldier rolled away from the prince's blade, stood back up and charged at him, bellowing something in a foreign language. Kagami found himself blocking the blows and parrying back. He wasn’t really thinking. He made the soldier lose his footing and before the other man had time to get up he embedded his sword into his neck.

In a swift movement, he turned and struck another soldier that was coming from his back. He could still hear how the previous enemy was choking on his own blood behind him. Kagami's muscles burned like a thousand fires.

In that moment, it was every man on his own. The whole battlefield was scattered. There were no formations, the only way to know who was who was by the heraldry on the tunics over their armors, and not always, because everyone was caked in mud and blood at this point.

The sky thundered once more over their heads, as if enjoying the sight before it. Screaming its joy for bloodshed for the whole world to hear.

It was madness, chaos, agonizing screams and crazed roars. Kagami tasted blood on his mouth. He wasn’t sure if it was his, or if it belonged to someone else. It came to a point during the battle, that he didn’t know if he had been fighting for a few minutes or a few hours. He could feel his muscles giving away. His shield shoulder was on fire and he couldn’t raise it above his stomach. His throat was scraped and felt raw and open.

The rain began to pour on them. The thunder rose once again, over the chorus of screams of the agonizing and the desperate clash of swords, followed by lighting which lit up the dark clouds for half a second. Kagami searched the battlefield for his brother. He had lost sight of him at the beginning of the battle.

And then, time seemed to stop. Not five meters away, his brother stood. He was fighting the general with the deep blue crest. He was losing ground, the other man was moving like the prince hadn’t seen any human being move with an armor as heavy as the one the enemy commander was wearing. Blows came one after another, leaving no time for Kagami's brother to breathe or recover. The man had lost his spear and was attacking with his sword.

The rain made the ground turn to mud. Kagami's feet dug into it. The incessant clinking of the drops of water against his armor made him even more aware of the reality of the situation.

Kagami started to make his way towards his brother. More people came towards him, one of them took a blow to his helmet and it fell of his head, scraping his cheek and bruising his temple. Kagami turned and buried his sword on the chest of the soldier who had taken his helmet. The crust of blood on the handle of his sword was dissolving in the rain. His hair was plastered onto his forehead mixing in with the sweat.

His brother fell to the ground.

Kagami screamed his name. His brother looked at him and he could do nothing but watch, as the general’s sword fell towards Akira's neck with inhuman strength, severing the head right off. Kagami’s world spun. It was as if he were looking at himself, looking at his brother’s head on the floor. Everything felt so wrong. He saw as the other man kicked the severed body away.

A thousand memories flew by his mind in the span of time since the general kicked the body until it hit the ground.

His brother smiling, his brother teasing him, his brother teaching him how to fight, his brother ruffling his head, his brother comforting him and then his brother dying, his brother’s body being kicked, his brother’s head falling.

Rage and anguish exploded inside his chest. A savage roar ripped out of his throat. Kagami ran towards the general, completely blinded by anger. He tackled him into the ground just before the general turned towards him. Both of their swords were lost in the fall. He saw how those deep blue eyes widened in surprise and, dared he hope, fear.

The air was knocked out of their chests in the impact. Kagami held him down with his own body. He sat up were the general’s belly should be and went to crush his face with his shield. The other man threw his hands up and held the shield. Kagami clenched his jaws, spit came out of his mouth. The general let out a scream and ripped the shield away from Kagami.

Their armors were stained with mud, thunder rumbled above them. The men around them were too busy killing and dying to pay them any attention.

Kagami felt the sharp burn of pain travelling through his shoulder and that moment of distraction tipped the balance. The general rolled them and now he was the one on top of Kagami. An iron gauntlet came crushing down. Pain exploded on his face. His eyes swam with a thousand of little sparkles. Another blow. The skin on his cheek broke.

He managed to stop the next strike and land one himself. The helmet of his assailant stumbled out of the other man’s head.

Water dripped from the comander’s face creating roads on the dirt and blood that was staining his face. The eyes of the general were crazed and his expression was twisted into one of pure killing instinct. Kagami had never seen a man like the one trying to kill him. His facial structure was perfect. His skin was smooth with only a small scar on his left eyebrow and the color of his skin was of a beautiful light brown with golden undertones.

And then Kagami hit him again with his left fist, his shoulder screamed with pain. His own gauntlet crushed against the general’s face splitting his lip. The general snapped his head back and wrapped his hands around Kagami’s throat.

He tried to gasp for air to no avail. Kagami gripped the other’s man protected wrists. He tried to rip them away. The general brought him up by the neck and crushed his head onto the ground. His head landed with a wet splash. A cloud of small dots covered his eyes. He took his hands away and started to feel the earth around him. Trying desperately to find something he could hit the other man with. His hand found a rock. He gripped it tightly and smashed it into the side of the general’s head.

But he wasn’t letting go. The blood on his face mixed with the rain and it fell on Kagami, a maniac grin on his face. Kagami tried to smash him again but his arm wasn’t responding. His throat was crushing under the strength of the general. Kagami locked his eyes with him.

It dawned on him that he was going to be killed. He knew that there was a possibility of him dying, it was a war, people died on wars. But it was one thing to know and another thing to come face to face with death. Kagami frowned and tried to raise the rock again. He heaved for air and then he finally raised the rock. The second blow did the job.

The air came back rushing into his lungs. Kagami coughed violently. He rolled away on his fours. His knees and hands digging into the dirt. He tried to find his sword. He hadn’t even gotten a meter away when a foot connected with his ribs a loud crack and another shot of pain travelled through his whole body.

Kagami rolled onto his back again. He looked up and saw the general wiping the blood away from his lip.

“I like it when they don’t give up” his voice was rough and low. “Too bad you’re going to die either way”

The water that came pouring from the sky made the outline of the general blurry.

Kagami saw how he unsheathed a dagger from the back of his belt. He tried to scramble up to a stand. His whole world was spinning, the broken cheek stung like hell. His shoulder burned and his ribs were imbedded into his lungs. A fit of coughs made him spit blood to the ground. Kagami looked to each side. The general was coming closer to him. He tried stopping the imminent blow and then the knife entered his gut.

Kagami slumped forward and held onto his killer. He made a strangled noise of surprise and his whole vision swam. He vaguely heard the trumpet for surrender being blown. And then he heard a thud of an arrow. The rain was cold. Kagami saw it imbedded on the general’s shoulder. A shout of pain rang in his ears. The arms that were holding him, letting him go. He felt himself fall. Someone screamed.

“Save the prince!”

It was so cold.

He could only bring himself to see flashes of what happened around him after that: Him being hauled onto a horse. A man with blond hair approaching the general with a horse.

“Daiki!”

The general mounting the horse and turning away. The general looking back, the general’s eyes and then darkness. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REJOICE I HAVE UPDATED ONCE AGAIN!

The moment Kagami was awakened by the pain, he heard the murmurs of the healers doing their magic. Fever struck him and with it, nightmares. His brother dying repeatedly. The knife being stuck in his gut. The words the general had said to him.  
   
The scent of his mother filled the room he was in. The bed was large and filled with furs. His eyes moved under his eyelids. Sweat covered his forehead and body. He heard her cry. Heard her pray.  
   
They brought soups. He could barely eat them. His throat still hurt, he could almost feel the hands around it, squeezing with killing intent. The healers started to pour memories into his brain. Memories of calm places, soft winds and earthy smells.  
   
The next time he opened his eyes with a slight measure of consciousness, two whole weeks had gone by.  
   
Kagami groaned. His face was still swollen. The healer’s magic was only focused on life-threatening wounds. Not on superficial scrapes, as they called them. Hence, although the wound to the gut was healed, the shoulder was fine and his lungs were repaired. The rest of his body was still bruised and battered up.  
   
He turned on the bed. The sharp sting of pain on his ribs made him lay down in his original position. Kagami huffed. The room he was in, was of a considerable size. The stone walls were covered with tapestries, trying to keep the late September air out. The bed was placed on the western wall, with a large a canopy over it and a small table by the bedside. It had a bowl with water and compresses on it and the dagger that had been imbedded in his gut, laying innocently near them.  
   
Everything that had happened came back to him in a swarm of memories. Kagami wished that he hadn’t woken up at all. The thought of his brother’s dead body haunted him. He closed his eyes. Kagami took two deep breaths and swallowed back his tears.  
   
The wooden door groaned and a maid entered Kagami’s room. She had a simple maid outfit, with a small cuff covering her hair. Her eyes met his and they widened.  
   
“My prince!” She rushed over to his side. “Are you feeling alright?”  
   
The young woman brought her hand to his forehead.  
   
“You still have a fever” she said turning towards the table and squeezing the compress that was on the bowl, placing it over his forehead.  
   
“Where’s my mother?” he asked.  
   
The girl shifted her eyes away from his. She cleared her voice and tried to busy herself with assorting the furs covering Kagami and checking the wounds.  
   
Kagami rose into a seating position on the bed. Once again, his ribs ached at the movement. But this time he paid no mind at the pain.  
   
“My parents. Where are they?” he demanded  
   
The maid sighed, and looked at him in distress.  
   
“They’re in a meeting with the empress, they’re establishing the peace treaty, my prince.” She said.  
   
Kagami felt his jaw slacken.  
   
“What?” he asked.  
   
“A lot of things have happened since your return my prince. The battle was lost, too many died…” she trailed off.  
   
Kagami’s brain was trying to wrap itself around the idea of having been defeated.  
   
“So, it was all for nothing?”  
   
The maid looked at the ground and held her hands together.  
   
“It wasn’t for nothing, my lord. You did what you had to do to protect the honor of our kingdom.”  
   
Kagami ripped the furs away from his body. He had a nightgown on that went down to his knees. He ripped it off as well and went towards a chest of drawers.  
   
“My prince, please, you can’t be out of the bed!” the maid squealed trying to look at anything but the naked man in front of her.  
   
Kagami found a pair of trousers. He placed them on over his legs and tied the strings together.  
   
To the side of the chest of drawers, he found his boots. They were soft and comfortable and reached a little bit above his knees. He turned around.  
   
The maid was flustered, her eyes raked over the golden expanse of the prince’s upper body. She tried to look at the floor but it was like her eyes were glued to the perfect abdominals, defined chest and powerful arms. And the fact that they were bruised and scarred only made their attraction bigger, for some unknown reason.  
   
“Where can I find a shirt?” he asked her.  
   
She spluttered over her words.  
   
“I- Well- There-” she cleared her voice trying to focus on the question that had been asked and not on the v that disappeared inside the trousers of the prince. “I’ll bring one”  
   
She quickly made her way out of the room, closing it behind her with a loud thud.  
   
Kagami paced around the room impatiently. There was a window on the far end of the room. He walked towards it and looked outside. It was a cold morning. The window was fogged over by the contrast between the warm room and the outside. The sky was clear on this day. Kagami felt the heavy sting of loss inside his chest once again.    
   
He kept expecting Akira to just walk through the door as if nothing had ever happened. With that annoying grin, he always had. Kagami pressed his forehead onto the window. He took a sharp breath and closed his eyes. Tears began to accumulate behind his closed eyelids, warm and ready to pour.  
   
His jaws clenched with anger. His parents were trying to broker a peace treaty with his son’s murderers. He wanted to scream.  
   
Kagami heard the door open once again.  
   
The maid approached him slowly. He hadn’t moved from the window. She handed him the shirt. Kagami recollected himself and opened his eyes. When his hands got hold of the cloth she looked straight into his eyes.  
   
“I-” she said, “The crown prince was… he was a really good person.”  
   
Her voice broke a little and her eyes filled with tears.  
   
“I’m so sorry for what happened”  
   
Kagami frowned and swallowed thickly. The emotion was tearing at his throat. He shook his head.  
   
“You have nothing to be sorry about.” he said to her  
   
She sniffled and shook her head as well.  
   
“I know, but, I just can’t believe it, I can’t believe we lost, that we-“  
   
Kagami placed his hand on her shoulder. She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and tried to get herself together once again.  
   
“I’m so scared.” she looked up at him through her eyelashes.  
   
Kagami put the shirt on. It was opened by the front. He tucked it inside the pants.  
   
“Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “nothing’s going to happen to you.”  
   
She bowed her head. Her cheeks were tinted a pretty red color.  
   
He passed by her and went towards the door.  
   
“They’re in the eastern wing, in the meeting room.” She said  
   
Kagami looked at her and smiled.  
   
“Thank you….” He trailed off.  
   
“Risa” she said.  
   
He nodded.  
   
“Risa”    
   
The girl smiled back at him. Kagami exited the room. His steps were wide and sure. With each movement, his battered body ached with pain, but it didn’t slow him down. It only reminded him of what had to be done.  
   
After walking through various corridors and hallways and being stopped by a few noblemen to ask about his welfare and give their condolences Kagami reached the meeting room. There were a pair of guards of his father’s royal guard and four of the empress. Their armors, black, with a pink rose and the shield of her house on the tunic that was over it.  
   
He heard voices coming from inside. Kagami frowned and walked towards it.  
   
“My prince!” one of the guards said, “You can’t be here!”  
   
“Get out of my way.” Kagami replied.  
   
The guards of the empress looked at what was happening in front of them with practiced apathy.  
   
Kagami went for the doors and before the guards could even move to stop him, they opened with a loud creak.  
   
The hall was enormous, and sumptuous. The room was divided into three horizontal sections separated by large stone columns, decorated by richly embroidered banners. On the end of the hall there were a few steps that led to a throne. But everyone was seated at a large table,  
   
The servants had gotten it from the feast room and brought it there. It sat in the middle of the hall; the members of the council and his parents on one side of the table and the five generals on the other side. The empress presiding the table.  
   
Every head had turned towards him. His mother rose from her seat.  
   
“Taiga...” she gasped.  
   
Kagami felt anger swelling inside his chest when his eyes landed on the general he had fought with. The bastard was glaring at him. Kagami clenched his jaws and continued to go ahead.  
   
The generals all had the same hair color as their crests. Deep blue, light red, green, purple and blond. And crowning the table, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life.  
   
His steps faltered at her sight.  
   
Her hair was pulled up in an intricate upsweep. The color of her hair was light pink and braided into it, there were jewels of all colors and shapes. They glistened in the morning light that entered the hall through the huge windows that decorated it. Her skin was like porcelain, her eyes were elegant and wide, topped off with large lashes and perfect eyebrows. The dress she was wearing was made of the finest of silks and its blue undertones contrasted perfectly with the rest of her outfit.  
   
When Kagami looked at the empress, he felt her assessing stare. Behind her, he noticed that there was another woman. She had short brown hair. Her beauty was of a different kind. It was wilder, less palatial.  
   
Instead of a dress, she wore an ornate armor, like the ones the generals were wearing, a fur cape around her shoulders. Kagami knew that there were women in the empress’s army. Still, it was strange to see a woman in that outfit.    
   
A poised smile stretched through the empress’s face.  
   
“Prince Kagami.” she said standing from her chair. “I’m glad you are well enough to walk.”  
   
The generals stood with her. And belatedly, his father, and the rest of the council that had been gathered there for the meeting.     
   
Kagami frowned.  
   
“General Aomine told me you were sure to be dead.” she looked at the blue-haired general.  
   
The glare on the other man’s face was substituted with a scowl directed at his empress.  
   
The smile on her face became genuine, actual amusement dancing in her eyes, as if she were sharing a joke with them, that they didn’t understand. The other generals tried to hide their own amusement to no avail.

“I’m glad he was mistaken” she schooled her expression back to the political poise she had adopted at first, and directed it towards Kagami. The generals did the same. “You must have great healers in your kingdom”  
   
Kagami had reached the table at last. His ribs were hurting too much to ignore and the throb on his cheek was distracting to say the least. The young prince saw that Aomine still had a leftover bruise on his lip and there were stitches on his temple, where Kagami’s rock had collided into repeatedly.  
   
Kagami wanted to glare at the woman in front of him. But he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He cleared his voice.  
   
“You are discussing the terms of the peace treaty.”  
   
Kagami’s mother had a black dress. Her red hair was loose in sign of mourning. She rushed over to him and grabbed him by the arm bringing her hand up to his forehead.  
   
“You still have a fever!” she exclaimed “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”  
   
Kagami slapped his mother’s hand away. The hurtful look she gave him was almost enough to ask her for forgiveness. But he was a prince, and a prideful one too.  
   
“I am the prince.” he said to her “I have the right to be here.”  
   
He saw the pleased look passing through the face of the empress. She looked at the woman with the short brown hair. The woman smiled as well. A bad feeling began to form inside his chest.    
   
The queen frowned, she stood in silence. Her jaws clenched.  
   
“Very well, son.” her voice was stern.  
   
The room became quiet and then the queen made her way towards her seat. The empress sat down as well.  
    
“Come, sit here.” she pointed at a chair that was to her left. One of the generals, a purple haired giant, stood up in a lazy movement to vacate the chair the empress had pointed to. He went to sit on the chairs that were left at the end.  
   
For a moment Kagami thought the general would be angry, but he found out, that that wasn’t the case. Kagami saw a bracelet on his wrist. He frowned, for some reason it seemed vaguely familiar.  
   
Kagami shot a look at his father and the man shrugged his shoulders.  
   
His brother had inherited the eyes and hair from his father and the nose and eyebrows from his mother. As for him, he had inherited just the opposite.  
   
He nodded and made his way towards the appointed seat. It was strange to be placed opposite to where his parents were.     
   
“Very well” the empress said, “after this interruption I assume that we can proceed once again.”  
   
She looked at the general with the light red hair and nodded.  
   
He started to speak, his voice was strong and imposing. There was a lot of bureaucracy talk, half of which Kagami didn’t understand.  
   
They established how the lands were going to be exploited to ensure the maximum efficiency, how the new administration was to behave, the percentage of profits they had to lend the empress.  
   
For a long time, they talked about those matters.  
   
The council accepted everything. Even if some of the demands weren’t going to be easy to heed. The general that had been talking, Akashi, paused his string of words and looked at the empress. After getting a nod from her part, he looked straight ahead once again.  
   
“And now for our next-to-last demand” he said, “Every boy from eight to eighteen must enlist into the army and fight for a period of fifteen years from their twentieth birthday”  
   
The whole room became silent. The empress looked at them one by one. Kagami looked around him as well. He couldn’t believe no one was saying anything. His mother had her lips pressed together. His father was pale and the other members of the council were looking down.  
   
“Very well.” Akashi said  
   
Kagami slammed his hands on the table.  
   
“Seriously?!”  
   
Everyone looked at him. The empress smirked, as if expecting that outburst and she looked at the woman behind her, again.    
   
“Taiga” his mother said with an ice-cold voice “This is not an argument”  
   
“We will be left with no defenses!” Kagami exclaimed.  
   
“That’s the idea”  
   
The voice that had spoken was deep and husky and it had a lazy drawl to it that made it seem as if talking was an extremely boring endeavor.  
   
Kagami looked to his left. His eyes met the blue gaze of Aomine. It was deep and sharp. Kagami felt his heart rate pick up, but strangely enough it wasn’t out of fear. The man had almost killed him and instead of a cold sweat breaking out and a desire to walk out of the room; he felt a sick thrill shooting down his back.  
   
Not understanding his own feelings made him angry. And for him, anger led to violence.    
   
“You fucks.” he snarled  
   
Kagami stood up, the chair screeching on the stone floor. Aomine imitated his movements getting up as well, his hand on the hilt of his sword. A lazy smirk stretching through his face.  
   
“What?” Aomine taunted “Didn’t have enough?”  
   
“Aomine” The soft voice of the empress had turned cold and tight.  
   
Aomine held Kagami’s stare, all their muscles tensed. Aomine tilted his head towards the empress without breaking contact with Kagami’s red eyes.  
   
“Sit down” she said.  
   
“Taiga” Kagami’s mother said as well.  
   
Kagami felt the anger rising.  
   
“HE KILLED MY BROTHER!” he exploded, pointing an accusatory finger at Aomine.  
Aomine’s eyes widened slightly.  
   
“THEY KILLED OUR PEOPLE!”  he screamed completely losing his composure “AND YOU’RE JUST GOING TO HAND THEM EVERYTHING ON A SILVER PLATTER!?”  
   
Kagami’s mother rose to her feet.  
   
“WE LOST!” she roared while slamming down her hands on the table as well “NOW, SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP, YOU’RE EMBARRASSING US WITH YOUR STUPIDITY!”  
   
Kagami clenched his jaws. The anger was so tangible he could almost chew on it. His fever was hitting him hard and he had a hard time focusing his eyes on anything.  
   
“I already lost one son to this senseless war other people decided to fight!” she spared a side glance at the king “It was a lost cause from the start, and things like bravery and courage were like poison for our people, and for that we have to mourn our dead. And bury our children.”  
   
“War is not a game, son.” her face was a rictus of anger “And you also killed brothers, and husbands, and sons two weeks ago, so do not think yourself above any of them, we’re all killers in this room.”  
   
The silence that ensued after the queen’s monologue was absolute. Kagami knew in his heart that his mother was speaking the truth. But still, the anger inside his chest, the hate he felt for the people sitting beside him was so strong he didn’t care.    
   
He saw Aomine’s eyes darting all through his frame. Once again, Kagami felt that uncomfortable, unsettling feeling raking through his body mixing in with the rage and the hate.  
   
Kagami fisted his hands and buried his nails on his palms. Every nerve in his body was screaming at him to get out of the room. But his pride was grounding him to where he was.  
   
“Your mother is right.” his father broke the silence “We were wrong to have rebelled against the empress. She’s being more than reasonable, she will let us preserve our lands and rule our people”  
   
The rest of the council nodded. The empress had a grave frown on her face.  
   
“These lands were hers by right.” one of the councilman said, “We were mistaken to have sided against her, with her uncle.”  
   
The empress sighed and rose to her feet once again. This time, everyone did the same almost immediately.  
   
“I know that this is hard to understand.” she said to Kagami, her voice soft “You were a great adversary, and therefore I’m giving you the honor of these agreements.”  
   
Aomine snorted at the mention of them being a great adversary. Kagami felt the rage soaring in his blood at the scorn Aomine was treating them with. Still, he understood that the empress wasn’t giving them _the honor of those agreements_ because they had been a great adversary, but because she needed manpower and food and money to finance her war. Destroying them wouldn’t give her any profit, becoming allies would.  
   
She was sweet and soft, but had an underlying coldness and hardness born only from someone who had suffered more than one could imagine.  
   
“But you must understand that we were enemies, and as much as I respect you, you must pay for what you did.”  
   
Kagami and her stared at each other. He didn’t know what to make of the woman in front of him.  
   
“As your mother said, bravery and courage are dangerous things in the hands of a fool” she continued “And no one wants a fool to be King.”  
   
The empress took a deep breath. Kagami began to get a bad feeling about where the conversation was heading. Her eyes shifted towards the queen.  
   
“Which brings us to our last demand.”  
   
The queen of Seirin paled.  
   
“I’m in need of more infantry, which the troops of your kingdom will supply.” she tilted her head to the side “And I shall need someone they will follow.”  
   
Her eyes went back to Kagami. The realization of what she was implying began to dawn on him. The anger drained from him completely and was substituted with surprise and a taste of anxiousness.  
   
“But, I cannot allow a fool to lead them” she said, “A fool, filled with bravery and courage, but a fool nonetheless.”  
   
Kagami looked at his mother and saw her with her lips pressed together. His eyes shifted to his father.  
   
“Kagami Taiga” her voice was strong and determined “I want you as my sixth general. I want you to lead the elite Seirin infantry that your realm is famous for, but that my army is lacking.”  
   
Kagami felt his jaw drop. He looked at each of the other generals trying to see if there was any sight of deception. Their faces were serious. Kagami halted a little longer on Aomine before diverting back to the empress.  
   
“I was happy to see you here. Being able to ask this of you directly was a privilege.” she said.  
   
His ears were ringing.  
   
“But, first you need to learn how to become a man, a general...” she paused “...a King.”  
   
Kagami’s mother squeezed her hands together.  
   
“I don’t understand.” Kagami said.  
   
The empress nodded and her eyes went back to the brown-haired woman. The woman stepped forward.  
   
“Just as I’m tutoring Riko,” she said, her eyes became soft for a moment before steeling themselves again “for her to become a Queen and another general in my army, someone will tutor you, to be the same.”  
   
The Queen looked up and shook her head.  
   
“She’s asking you to go with them, to be trained to be a leader of men” she sighed.  
   
Kagami’s brain was stuck. He understood the words that his mother had spoken, but his mind didn’t process them.  
   
“That’s right,” the empress said, “we will continue our campaign until all the territories my father conquered have been reclaimed, so it will be a perfect chance for you to learn everything that needs to be learned”  
   
“And who?” Kagami asked.  
   
The empress looked at Aomine. He looked back at her.  
   
“No” the boy stated.  
   
She shook her head softly.  
   
“An army is an organic machine that needs to function as one.” the empress said, “You have wronged the prince, this grievance needs to be healed, hence, you will oversee his tutoring and fix the bad blood between you.”  
   
Kagami’s head was spinning. Everything was happening so quickly he couldn’t even say anything.  
   
“Satsu- Momoi!” Aomine protested.  
   
“Remember that I’m your Empress now, Aomine.” she made special emphasis on his surname.    
   
Aomine clicked his tongue and his jaw clenched. Momoi looked at the Queen. Kagami’s mother was trying to keep her composure.  
   
“You would take my two sons away from me?” she asked, her voice strained.  
   
Momoi’s face darkened.  
   
“You know he will return a great warrior and a wise man” she said, “A good king that chooses what’s best for his people”  
   
The queen took a deep breath.  
   
“I didn’t choose this my Queen, your people did.”  
   
They were all silent once again. Momoi spoke up eventually.  
   
“I’m tired, Queen of Seirin. Perhaps you could show us to our rooms?” she asked, while looking at Riko and then back to Kagami’s mother.  
   
The poor woman nodded halfheartedly. Kagami blinked a few times. The rest of the councilmen and generals around him began to break out in conversation.  
   
Momoi halted her steps. She looked back.  
   
“We will leave in a week” She said, “Kagami could show Aomine to his rooms”  
   
Kagami looked up.  
   
“He has a fever” intervened the queen “Due to the wounds that man gave him”  
   
Her tone was harsh. She sent a murderous glare at Aomine. The general scoffed and glared back at her.    
   
“Then, he can help on returning him to health.”  
   
Aomine’s eyes widened. His jaws clenched harder.  
   
“I won’t.” he snarled.  
   
The whole room quieted down. The tension began to brew between Momoi and Aomine. Their eyes not leaving each other.  
   
“What did you say?” her voice was dangerously sweet.  
   
Kagami was smart enough to not intervene in whatever that was going on in that moment, even though he wanted to say that he didn’t need his brother’s killer’s help for anything.  
   
“You can’t ask that of me.” Aomine’s fury was tangible.  
   
A terrifying smile spread through Momoi’s face.  
   
“You almost cost me an army by killing the crown prince and attempting to murder the other.” her voice sent chills down Kagami’s back.  
   
Everything began to make sense after that sentence. The empress needed them more than what he had thought at first. Her army was truly lacking and she knew that the people of Seirin wouldn’t fight for a foreigner. If he had died on that battlefield she risked an internal crisis that could seriously endanger her.  
   
Kagami saw Aomine’s neck vein thicken.  
   
“I was protecting myself.” he said.  
   
Momoi shook her head gently.  
   
“You will do as I tell you, Aomine. You will protect this man.” she said pointing at Kagami “With your own life. And you will shape him into a true leader. Because he holds one of the many keys we need for our revenge. I don’t need to remind you what’s on the line here, do I?”  
   
And at that moment Kagami also understood that having Aomine tutoring him was also a punishment for his actions. That thought made Kagami feel a little better.  
   
Their stare contest finished when Aomine turned his face away. Kagami had a feeling that the argument would continue eventually. But for now, Momoi turned away from them.  
   
“Let’s go” she said to his mother.  
   
They waited until the three women got out of the room before slowly, everyone started to leave as well.  
   
Kagami saw Aomine approaching him.  
   
“Lead the way.”  
   
He felt the anger swelling in his chest once again. Kagami wanted to rip that man limb from limb and he could see that the feeling was mutual. The hateful glare directed his way was more than an indication of it.  
   
Kagami turned around. The way to the room he had been in while recovering was silent. While going to the meeting room, people had stopped him, now they quickened their pace. Kagami opened the door and entered.  
   
His muscles clenched and unclenched sending painful shocks all throughout his body. Even after the exchange that had happened in the meeting room, Kagami knew that if that man wanted, he could kill him in the blink of an eye. He turned around. Aomine’s rage was blatant.  
   
“Sit down.” Aomine ordered through clenched teeth.  
   
Kagami frowned.  
   
“What for?” he demanded, a suspicious glare settled on his face.  
   
Aomine stared at him as if he were the most stupid person in the world.  
   
“I’m going to heal you.” he said.  
   
Kagami’s eyes widened in surprise.  
   
“But you’re a warrior!” he exclaimed “Healers are not allowed to fight!”  
   
A sour smile spread through Aomine’s face.  
   
“I know.”  
   
Kagami frowned.  
   
“Then how?”  
   
Aomine walked closer to him. Kagami took a step back for every step Aomine took forward.  
   
“Why should I tell you anything about me?”  
   
Kagami’s legs hit the back of the bed and he fell on it. Aomine’s eyes closed. His fingers began to glow softly. Kagami’s breath hitched and the tip of Aomine’s hands touched his cheek.  
   
Aomine’s fingertips were cold. For some reason, Kagami couldn’t rip his gaze away from his face. It relaxed completely, the frown lines disappeared. Aomine’s face was elegant, his lashes rested against his cheeks. His lips weren’t full but they weren’t thin either. Kagami didn’t want to admit it to himself but Aomine was the most handsome man he had seen in a long time.  
   
The pain immediately subsided and the skin began to repair itself. Kagami let out the breath he was holding. When his cheek was healed, Aomine’s eyes opened. They were glazed over, like he was in a trance. His mouth whispered a string of intelligible words, and he lifted Kagami’s shirt.  
   
Kagami’s heart was rattling against his chest. He couldn’t breathe properly. He let Aomine lift his shirt and place his hand over his bruised ribs. The touch sent a thousand butterflies on a rampage inside his stomach. He was completely enthralled with Aomine’s movements.  
   
The magic swept inside him, soft and warm. It surprised Kagami given the fact that the man whose magic it belonged to was anything but soft and warm. Kagami closed his eyes and sighed in relief. The pain faded and the fever went down.  
   
For a few blissful moments, everything was good. Kagami forgot about who it was that was healing him and basked in the pleasant feeling sweeping his body and then, the flow of magic stopped abruptly. Kagami’s eyes snapped open once again. His whole body tensed in anticipation of violence.  
   
His eyes found Aomine’s deep blue ones.  
   
“You’re healed.” he said.  
   
Aomine’s face had adopted the scowl he had had on before. It didn’t lessen his appeal but it was a different kind of beauty. It was the same a panther or a mountain lion would have: dangerous and mortal.    
   
Kagami clenched his jaws and willed those thoughts away from his mind.  
   
“Yeah.” he answered back.  
   
They were still holding each other’s gaze. Kagami was the first one to look down. Aomine’s eyes were strange. They held a coldness so deep it was frightening. It was as if he had spent his whole life hating and that hate had poisoned every part of his body. Kagami remembered the way he had charged against their spears. Fearless, almost as if he didn’t care that one might impale him.  
   
“Now, show me to my room, I can’t stand being near you anymore.” he spat out “Wasting my magic on a piece of shit prince.”  
   
Kagami’s anger flared once again. He rose to his feet. His lip was curled in a frown of disgust.  
   
“Fuck you.” he snarled back at him  
   
Aomine gave a dry chuckle.  
   
“I think you misunderstand your position.” The last word was filled with venom.  
   
Kagami’s hands balled into fists.  
   
“You’re mine now.” Aomine continued. “From the moment your mother walked out of that room and your father didn’t stop our arrangement, you became mine.”  
   
His face was twisted into a grin.  
   
“I can’t kill you, but you will wish you were dead when I finish with you.” he said.  
   
“For the next years, all you will do is heed my every command.” he was only two centimeters taller than Kagami, but suddenly, he felt like a midget standing next to a titan. “When I say, jump, you will jump. When I say run, you will run. When I say come here and help me piss, you will hold my dick for me.”  
   
He said this between clenched teeth.  
   
“You will train from dawn until dusk, the only thing in your mind will be when the next battle is going to be.” Aomine opened his arms. “All of this? All of your commodities, the maids, the meals? Gone.” Kagami could feel the hatred exuding off Aomine. “All the power you had.”  
   
He snapped his fingers to illustrate his point.  
   
“Gone.” He grabbed Kagami by the shirt and pulled him close “Everything you’ve ever loved...”  
   
He paused.  
   
“Gone.”  
   
Aomine pushed Kagami away from him  
   
“You think you are something.” he snarled “But you’re so weak you wouldn’t know true strength if it took physical form and hit you in the face.”  
   
Aomine turned away from him.  
   
“Now, show me to my rooms.”  
   
Kagami’s eyes were wide. His throat had dried out completely. He found Aomine completely terrifying. Still, his ego was winning over his rationality. He could feel the words on his tongue.  
   
“I will never yield to you.” he spat out despite his fear.  
   
He clenched his entire body waiting for a blow, a violent reaction, something.  
   
What he didn’t expect was to hear a chuckle. Their eyes met once again.  
   
“You’re so stupid you don’t even know when to give up, do you?” they stared at each other for a few seconds, the smile on Aomine’s face fell slowly “You will break, prince. They all do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first things first: 
> 
> Guys... I was SO happy that you liked the first chapter, and even happier when you commented it! I seriously can't wait to see what you think of this one! I'm really satisfied with how it turned out, let me know if it was the same for you! 
> 
> Also! I want to send a big: "THANK YOU" to Idi2 and Unmei for beta reading this chapter YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! and to be honest... I'd have taken MUCH MUCH longer to update if you hadn't helped. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last one! 
> 
> Until next time!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this? Another update? YES, MY BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN! GO! ENJOY!

The week passed in a blur. The men and women of the Empress calmed their thirst in the taverns of the city and ate in the houses of the Seirin citizens. For three days, the Kesians tasted the spoils of their victory. But when those three days were up, the vast force that had settled in the Kingdom of Seirin, became an army once again, the men and women became soldiers once again.     
   
Kagami was ordered to pack only the necessities. Aomine reviewed his packing and made him unpack and pack again so many times, Kagami was ready to strangle him on the spot. An entire morning had gone by until the other man had been satisfied with what he carried.   
   
At first, Kagami thought they would go back to their kingdoms. Alas, he was mistaken. On the morning of the seventh day the Empress had come out of the fortified city of the capital of the Kingdom in her grey horse, followed closely by the fierce looking woman, called Riko and led the way towards the next Kingdom to be subdued: Lyran.    
   
Kagami had never been a good student, he didn’t know that much about conquering techniques. Akira was the smart brother, the one that was going to be king, the one who knew about those things. Kagami was happy with just being a soldier. He enjoyed the carefree life. No one really cared what he did because the responsible one had to be Akira, not him.  
   
Part of the force remained in Seirin to oversee the training of the new recruits. But the rest of them continued forward. The royal guard of the Empress was the first one to join the march, immediately behind Touou’s force, with him and Aomine at the head of it. Then joined Shutoku, Kaijou, Rakuzan and the other Kingdoms loyal to the empress.  
   
The goodbyes were short. His mother cried, and Kagami kissed her. His father gave him a tight hug, and that was it.   
   
It was still early in the morning when they reached the forest of Der. The air was cold and there was a mist sweeping in through the trees. The road was wide. It allowed eight riders to ride besides each other. The thrumming of the passing water could be heard in the distance.   
   
The border between the two kingdoms was a set of mountains, they weren’t too high and they had multiple caves that the water had dug throughout the years. They were crossed by the large river Trirrer. And beyond them the forest of The Moon extended all the way towards the lake of Sun.  
   
The march was slow. A lone rider could reach the mountains in one day, but the army would most likely take one entire week to cross the Seirin territory.   
   
The horse he was riding wasn’t a battle stallion like the one Aomine had. It was an old mere, mellow and soft but certainly not fit for a prince. Kagami looked to the side, the smell of pine was strong. He could see large rocks, covered in moss alongside huge ferns that grew between the trees and along the side of the road.   
   
He had ridden that path many times throughout his years. He had hunted there, he had played on those trees, he had had his first kiss there, even as a babe, his mother had taken him there with Akira to take long walks under the cover of the trees.   
   
Every memory that he had of that forest had been a good one. But now, now he was crossing the forest of his childhood alongside his enemies. He was going to war with people who cared only about what he would give to them. He was not a person.  He was only worth the number of spears that would follow him. Nothing more.    
   
Kagami craned his head to look behind him. There were laughs along the line, people talking and songs floating in the breeze. They seemed happy.   
   
And he had never felt as imprisoned as he was now. Not only had they taken away his brother from him, but they had decided his entire future in one instant. He wasn’t Akira’s little brother anymore. He was the heir to the throne. When his father passed he would have a thousand lives in his hands.   
   
The chirping of the birds mixed with the sounds of the armors shifting. Aomine rode beside him on his black stallion. His eyes scanned the road ahead, it was covered in red, orange and yellow. The mist was thick. The hooves of the horses dragged the fallen leaves.   
   
Kagami looked ahead of him. A constricting feeling gripped his lungs. He couldn’t escape the fate lying ahead of him. Kagami looked at Aomine. It was all that man’s fault. He considered killing him. If Aomine was gone then he would be free. He could wait until the general was asleep and then cut his neck. Kagami pressed his lips together. Aomine wouldn’t even have time to react.   
   
As if noticing the intent stare directed his way, Aomine looked back at Kagami. Kagami snapped his eyes away from him and busied himself with the reigns of the horse, watching them as if they had become the most interesting thing ever.   
   
He heard Aomine snort. Kagami frowned and looked up at him. Aomine was looking at him with an amused stare. It creeped him out. Part of him thought Aomine was always in a permanent state of anger.   
   
“You know” he said to him “If you plan to kill me, at least be a little subtle”   
   
Kagami scowled at Aomine.   
   
“I wasn’t thinking on-“   
   
Aomine raised his finger and shook his head.   
   
“Nu-uh, no lies little prince…” he repositioned himself on the horse “Also, you should know, if I were to die by your hand, believe me when I tell you, Satsu- the Empress, will stick your head on a pike.”   
   
Kagami curled his lip.   
   
“She needs me”   
   
Aomine laughed. Kagami’s eyes widened in surprise. His laugh was deep and rich. It came from the stomach and resonated in his ribcage. It was a nice sound. Aomine’s eyes found Kagami’s again.  
   
“Do you really believe she would value your life, over mine?”   
   
Kagami clenched his fists and looked away. The bastard was right. He heard him chuckle once again.   
   
A soft breeze picked up and traveled throughout the line. The wet coldness of autumn bled inside their armors and settled against their skin. Kagami pulled the red cape around his shoulders and wrapped it around him. Small puffs of condensed air came out of his mouth.   
   
It wasn’t fear that he felt, it was desperation. It suffocated him with its strength. He couldn’t be there. Couldn’t stay there. He raked his mind trying to find a way to avoid the future that awaited him. He couldn’t kill Aomine, couldn’t go back home. He couldn’t do anything.   
   
His thoughts were interrupted when the sounds of a horse nearing their position made him look forward. A rider came towards them. His light blue hair was being swept away by the wind. He had a light armor made of just a chest plate and arm protections. He stopped besides them and turned his horse to follow the march together. Kagami frowned.  
   
“Yo, Tetsu” Aomine saluted.   
   
“Tetsu?” Kagami asked.   
   
“Kuroko” the other man said.   
   
His horse was completely white, he had a helmet tied to the side of the horse. He had a small constitution and he looked frail.   
   
“You don’t have to answer to any of his questions” Aomine scoffed.   
   
Kagami clenched his fists harder. The leather gloves he wore creaked with the tension.    
   
“Aomine-kun, I really think you should be nicer to our guest”   
   
“Our guest” Kagami wanted to laugh “More like your hostage”   
   
He felt Kuroko’s eyes studying him.   
   
“I regret that you feel that way”   
   
Kagami shook his head. He almost preferred Aomine’s way of treating him. At least the other man wasn’t trying to pose himself as something he wasn’t. He didn’t pretend he cared about how Kagami felt like the Empress and apparently, the person who was now in front of him did.   
   
“Yeah, I’m sure you do” He said, sarcasm dripping from his every word.   
   
Aomine clicked his tongue.   
   
“So, Tetsu, what did you want”   
   
The blue headed rider directed his gaze at Aomine.   
   
“There’s a grassland up ahead. We will set camp there when the night falls”   
   
Aomine nodded. They stayed silent for a few moments before Aomine looked back at Kuroko.   
   
“So, how’s Satsuki”   
   
“She’s still angry at you” He said.   
   
Kagami listened to the exchange with half his brain. His thoughts were still trying to figure out a way to avoid being anywhere near those people.   
   
“She was hurt when you didn’t go see her for the entire week”   
   
He heard Aomine grunt.   
   
“She made me use my magic”   
   
Kuroko shrugged.   
   
“I don’t have a say in your matters Aomine-kun, but perhaps you could speak to her tonight”   
   
Kagami snapped into attention.   
   
“She’ll have me there until the sun rises” Aomine groaned   
   
A small smile tugged from Kuroko’s lips before disappearing.   
   
“She probably will”   
   
An idea started to form in Kagami’s mind. If he couldn’t kill Aomine and couldn’t go back home. The only possibility to escape from their clutches would be to leave everything behind and start anew in a place where the Empress’s touch couldn’t reach.   
   
The two of them continued to talk. Apparently, Kuroko oversaw the scouts and had been sweeping the area for possible ambushes. As well as surveying the safest paths the army could take to reach the Lyran kingdom.   
   
As the day passed Kagami’s plan started to take form. The sun moved in the sky, but its rays didn’t warm. The cold was steady and unmoving. The fog gave the forest an eerie feeling. From time to time, they encountered swarms of mosquitos and small flies concentrated in the middle of the road. Squirrels shot pass them, between the legs of the horses until they reached the other side and jumped on a tree.   
   
The plan was carefully being thought of in Kagami’s mind. He had been told that he was sharing a tent with the general. But if Aomine followed through and went to talk to the Empress, that gave him ample time to sneak away and leave before the other man took notice.   
   
The trail slowly widened. There were less and less trees with each step that they took. The grassland could be seen, extending beyond them and at the end, the mountains. They didn’t seem too far.   
   
He could ride towards the Lyran Kingdom and then continue until he reached the Sea of Souls. He would need money to pay for a passage on a boat that would take him to the other continent. Kagami knew it was madness, but the thought of helping the people who had ripped him from everything he knew and had thrown him into an uncertain future was driving him to madness.   
   
When the plain appeared before his eyes a sting of pain jolted through his heart. Akira and he would ride in that place. It drove his mother crazy, it was too close to the border. But they didn’t care and now, the ghosts of those memories were forever stuck to that land.   
   
One way or the other, whether he leaved or stayed, nothing would be the same for him. He would become something he wasn’t. And he’d rather abandon all hopes of ever seeing his family again than to bow down and yield like his father had done in that room, a week ago.   
   
He noticed that from time to time Aomine’s eyes trailed to him. A paranoid part of him thought that healers could also read minds and when he felt Aomine’s stare he tried keep his mind blank.   
   
They continued to go ahead until the sun began to fall. Then at the order of the generals, everyone dismounted and started to set camp. Kagami had to set his and Aomine’s tent while he went to place the horses at the edge of the camp.   
   
Their efficiency was something to admire. When it was completely dark outside, all the tents were set and fires lit. The camp was placed so that the tent of the empress was on the middle; around it the tents of the generals and then the rest. The horses tied at the edge of the camp and two guards guarding them.   
   
Kagami wasn’t the best at tent mounting. He was a prince, jobs like that were beneath him. They were the jobs servants did. He might’ve been the only one who hadn’t set the tent just yet. Kagami clenched his jaws as he hammered the stake were one of the cords that held up the cloth was going to be.   
   
Soldiers that passed him, snickered and pointed at him. It would be better if Aomine were to strike him but the bastard was too sharp and knew that humiliation was sometimes, worse than pain; the old mere, the tent mounting. Kagami was burning with rage and it only fueled his determination to leave that place.   
   
As he worked on setting the tent, he tried to remember everything the scholars that had taught his brother and he, about the land on the other side of the sea. They said there was something called democracy and that citizens chose their rulers. State-cities they called them. He would enlist into the army there and lead a simple life. Forget he was a prince.   
   
When he finished he was out of breath. The night sky was covered with a thousand stars. The moon shone brightly in the horizon. The temperature had dropped even more. He saw Aomine making his way towards him. His fingers felt stiff and cold. The general looked at the tent and then at Kagami.   
   
“What the hell is that?”   
   
Kagami frowned   
   
“A tent”   
   
A small circle of people began to gather around them.   
   
“A tent” Aomine repeated. He looked around him, and raised his voice: “The prince thinks that’s a tent!”   
   
He addressed the people surrounding them. The fire pits of the other tents were already lit. The flickering orange light illuminated them softly. There was a chorus of laughs all around. Kagami felt himself grow red. His teeth gritted against each other. Aomine scoffed.   
   
“Do it again.” he said to him while he turned around.   
   
“Do it yourself.” Kagami bit back.  
   
Aomine turned towards Kagami.   
   
“I’m not the one who doesn’t even know how to build a tent.” a smirk appeared through his face. More laughs were spread through the circle.   
   
Kagami felt shame sweeping through his body. He hated that he got red whenever he felt humiliated.   
   
Aomine’s eyes scanned through the crowd. He pointed at a person.   
   
“Wakamatsu!” he commanded “Help the little prince build a tent.”   
   
A big blond man that Kagami remembered vaguely, but couldn’t place from where, stepped forward. He gave Kagami a glare.   
   
Aomine came closer to Kagami. He stepped into his personal space and bent so that his lips were almost touching Kagami’s ear. He smelled like earth, horse and sweat. Kagami felt a chill ran down his spine.   
   
“What kind of fucking soldier would follow someone who doesn’t even know how to build a tent?”   
   
Kagami turned his face towards Aomine. Aomine gave him another smirk and then palmed his face twice before stepping away. Kagami didn’t know if he was red because of the embarrassment or because of the rage at that point.   
   
“Hey! You!” Wakamatsu yelled “C’mon!”   
   
Kagami looked away and went towards the other man. Aomine’s hand had been cold. Wakamatsu took the entire tent down and began to build it again.   
   
“You have to secure the pole in the middle.” Wakamatsu said pointing towards it   
   
The wooden post was a little bit taller than him. Wakamatsu bent down and started to screw it into the earth.   
   
“Like that, see?”   
   
Kagami crossed his arms over his chest.   
   
“This is beneath me” he scoffed.   
   
Wakamatsu snorted.   
   
“You want to know why he makes you do these things?” he asked while working on driving the pole into the ground   
   
Kagami clenched his teeth.   
   
“I don’t care.”   
   
Wakamatsu looked at Kagami. His breaths were coming out in short pants. He sniffed and shook his head.   
   
“You need to learn some humility, prince.”   
   
Kagami looked at Wakamatsu.   
   
“He wants to break me.”   
   
Wakamatsu chuckled. After spending a few more minutes screwing the pole into the ground, Wakamatsu started packing dirt around the wooden post.   
   
“He gave you “The Speech”, eh?” he laughed “He tells it to every new recruit.”   
   
Kagami frowned and Wakamatsu looked up at him. The man started to laugh loudly.   
   
“You thought he improvised that on the fly?” Wakamatsu’s laughs were booming “Oh, this is rich. Did he say the “you’re mine” thing too?”   
   
Kagami nodded slowly and Wakamatsu laughed harder. For some reason Kagami felt disappointed, his face fell slightly.   
   
Wakamatsu tied the four ropes around the top of the poles.   
   
“Are you paying attention to what I’m doing?” asked the other man between chuckles.   
   
Kagami came closer to him and watched with attention how the knots on the top of the tent were tied.   
   
“You take things too seriously.” Wakamatsu said “Half of the time, Aomine’s all bark and no bite. He just doesn’t give a fuck. I’m actually surprised that he’s payed you so much attention.”   
   
Kagami pressed his lips together. He wasn’t even worth an original speech to that bastard. Kagami frowned harder, anger swept through his body. He asked himself why he cared so much, it didn’t make any sense. Wakamatsu and he built the tent in less than a quarter of an hour.   
   
“There, now put all this inside, I’ll go tell Aomine it’s finished.” Wakamatsu said.   
   
“Yeah, fine.” Kagami answered gruffly.   
   
Wakamatsu raised an eyebrow.   
   
“Fucking royalty.” he murmured under his breath while he went away “Ungrateful bastards all of ‘em.”   
   
He was sitting inside the tent, with his armor and clothes on, when Aomine walked inside with a bowl of water on his hand and a cloth. He spared him a glance and then started to remove all his clothing.   
   
Kagami frowned when Aomine went to pull off his shirt.   
   
“The fuck are you doing?”   
   
Aomine turned and took off his shirt.    
   
“Cleaning myself. What, they don't wash in your country?” Aomine said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Kagami felt his jaw slacken.

There was a huge graph carved on the skin of Aomine’s back. It was horrible to look at. It seemed as if someone had driven a knife into the flesh and had drawn it there.  
   
Aomine picked up the cloth, let it in the water and then ringed it and started to wash off the sweat from that day’s ride. He unbuckled his belt and went to pull down his pants   
   
“You clean up too.” Aomine curled up his nose “You stink, it’s disgusting. What do they raise in Seirin, pigs, instead of men?”   
   
Kagami scoffed and started to undress himself as well. It was going to be a long ride until he got to the Sea of Souls. Might as well do it. Aomine pulled down his pants and folded them neatly along with the shirt he had, placing it where the makeshift bed was   
   
To Kagami’s surprise, Aomine wasn’t as muscular as he thought he would be, after seeing him move and kill in all that heavy armor. Every part of his body had the right amount of muscle and if one didn’t look at the grotesque scar on his back, his skin was smooth and didn’t look like the one of a warrior.   
   
Aomine looked at him shortly before diverting his eyes away from him. He bent down and Kagami turned his back to him. He had never had a problem with being naked in front of other people, but somehow, he felt extremely self-conscious in that moment. Kagami clenched his teeth.   
   
“Did you learn?” Aomine asked.  
   
Kagami startled slightly. There was a moment of silence. His thoughts returned to the conversation with Wakamatsu and that anger came back to him which only made him even angrier for thinking, even for a moment that he was somehow special, that somehow Aomine had said those things because Kagami was strong and Aomine felt the need to punctuate his dominance over him. But now he knew, it was just a thing he said to everyone.   
   
“Yes.” he said shortly.  
   
“Good.”   
   
He heard Aomine ruffle through his things and then, he heard the shifting of clothes being put. Kagami tried to delay as much as possible having to take off his pants. He messed around with the cords. Aomine placed the wet cloth on his shoulder and then stepped out of the tent.   
   
Kagami looked up as Aomine went outside. He had placed on another pair of pants and a new shirt. Kagami peeked out of the tent. He was going towards the Empress’s tent. He took a deep breath and quickly washed himself. He put on his clothes once again and then waited.   
   
Kagami felt his heart dancing inside his chest. He usually didn’t think things before doing them. Thinking got in the way of instinct and too many times his instincts had saved his life to start doubting them. Still, he ran the plan he had forged during the ride through his mind.   
   
There was a breeze making the tent flap. Noises of people walking, eating and laughing carried throughout the camp.   
   
Get out of the tent. Pass the tent of the Empress and do as if he was going to piss. When he was near the horses take down the guards and ride the whole night until he was in the cover of the mountains. It was easy.   
   
The tent had a dirty cream color, he could see small bugs crawling in the grass. They were being attracted by the bowl of water sitting between his and Aomine’s bed.   
   
Kagami set his eyes on Aomine’s bag. He had already made sure there was enough food and money inside of it for him to be able to reach the Lyran Kingdom. He would sell some things and carry on with his journey.   
   
The hours passed and the camp began to quiet down. Kagami feared Aomine would return and all his plans would fly out of the window. He was sure there would be more opportunities but no one would expect him to run away so soon. And in the cover of the night he had more than enough time before someone caught onto the fact that he wasn’t there.   
   
A small fly settled on the rim of the bowl and Kagami watched it as it bent forward. It was barely touching the water. And then it fell and dropped with a quiet splash. It squirmed and then died.   
   
The adrenaline soared through his veins. He was aware of every little movement. Kagami took a deep breath and stopped his mind from thinking about everything that could go wrong. He grabbed the bag and stepped out of the tent.   
   
The chill of the air made every hair on his body stand up. He swallowed and started to move. Most of the fires were already dying down. The quietness made Kagami fear that the beats of his heart were too loud and that someone was going to hear them.   
   
He passed through the tents of the generals and was now under the shadow of the Empress’s tent. It was a luxurious thing. Kagami had seen homes less sumptuous than that. It stood on four poles made of the finest of woods. The cloth was thick and of a deep burgundy red color trimmed with an imitation of gold on the edges.   
   
As he was passing beside it, he heard a loud exclamation coming from the inside that made him freeze in his place. For a moment, he thought he had been discovered. And then he understood that the exclamation hadn’t been directed at him.   
   
“You have to let them go Dai-chan! It’s been eight years already!”   
   
Kagami took two calming breaths. He heard a dry chuckle.   
   
“Let them go!?” the sentence was filled with venom. “Satsuki, they don’t want to let go!”   
   
A movement to the right startled him. Kagami let out another controlled breath. He shook his head, the more he stayed there the more chances of being caught he had. His throat felt like sandpaper. Kagami looked ahead and saw the posts were the horses were tied to.   
   
The conversation inside the tent kept going. Kagami moved away from it. He took a couple of breaths and straightened himself, he smiled and went towards one of the guards with even steps. The guard frowned and called his companion. Both approached Kagami. Kagami’s smile widened.   
   
“Hey! What are you-“   
   
And before the man had time to finish his sentence Kagami had risen the bag and crushed it to the side of his head. The other man looked at his fallen comrade and then at Kagami. The guard started to take air to shout when the prince cut off the air from his lungs with a dry punch to his solar plexus.   
   
The man stumbled backwards and Kagami took that chance to knock him out with an effective punch to his head. He quickly made his way to the horses. And just before he was going to untie one, his eye caught the black stallion that belonged to Aomine.   
   
A small part of him warned him not to take Aomine’s horse. But then a smile spread through his face as a pleasant feeling ran down his spine. He imagined the face Aomine would put when he found out that his money, food and horse had been stolen. Let’s see which of his recruits had ever done that. Kagami clenched his jaws when he remembered Wakamatsu’s words.   
   
Kagami knew Aomine would most probably chase after him and surprisingly the only thing that thought made him feel, was a thrill.   
   
He looked through the bag until he found a small apple. He approached the large stallion. The horse huffed and moved. Kagami shushed him and placed the apple in front of him. The horse started to smell it. Kagami got closer and he looked around.   
   
The tents were quiet. No one was moving through the camp and the guards were still passed out. Kagami stroked the thick neck of the animal.   
   
“Hey...” he whispered.   
   
The horse ate the apple. Kagami kept stroking the animal. He saw the saddle propped on the pole.   
   
“What do you say we get out of here, uh?”   
   
The horse’s eyes were black as well. They watched Kagami. It sniffed Kagami slowly and let out another huff. It drove its head into Kagami’s arms.   
   
“Yeah, I must smell like that guy, uh?” Kagami let his fingers into the mane of the horse “I seriously don’t understand how you stand him.”   
   
The horse snorted and Kagami couldn’t help a smile. He quickly grabbed the saddle and placed it on over the blanket the horse had. He tightened the belt and released the ties. He hadn’t been trained to be part of the cavalry, but he wasn't a bad rider. Better than what Akira had ever been, at least.   
   
He jumped up in a swift motion and then after scanning his surroundings he directed the horse towards the grassland ahead of them and urged him forward. Kagami saw the river in the distance and set his path towards there.   
   
Kagami felt his heart rattling against his chest. He looked behind him from time to time. The sounds of the night carried through the air. The smell of grass accentuated during the night and the sky seemed huge and never ending.   
   
A feeling of exhilaration took over his entire body. The wind hit his cheeks and ruffled his hair. An hour after he had left the encampment he began to slow down. The horse had been marching the entire day, he didn’t want to over exhaust it.   
   
He scanned the plain. The thrum of the river was intensifying. It would be impossible to track him during the night, even if they found out he was gone, until the first rays of sun hit they wouldn’t be able to ride after him.   
   
Another hour after that, he was near the river. The grass almost reached the horse’s knees. If he kept the river’s course he would reach a gorge that would take him across the mountains and into the Lyran territory.   
   
Tiredness washed through his body. His muscles trembled from all the built-up tension. The soft light of the moon reflected on the water making it look like silver. Any other time he would’ve reveled in its beauty.    
   
He looked to the south. Kagami could still see the shape of the banner on top of the Empress’s tent in the darkness.   
   
But today, he was leaving everything behind to never return.   
   
Kagami stroked the horse’s neck.   
   
Kagami remembered when the news of the Empress’s return had come to the castle. He had been thirteen. It was all that people talked about. During feasts, he heard the noblemen argue between them. Some of them said that it was her right and others that she was too young and inexperienced to carry an empire. He thought that if she had rallied up an army and taken back the capital, maybe she wasn’t as weak as they said. And maybe he had sought to wish she were weak.  
   
He opened Aomine’s bag and saw that there was dried meat inside. Kagami took it out and readjusted himself on the saddle. He ate the meat slowly.   
   
Her uncle had fled before they could catch him. His mother had always been against placing themselves against the empress. But his father had told Akira and him it was just a woman’s weak heart that swayed her to that notion.   
   
Kagami scanned his surroundings. He could see the outline of the mountains in the darkness. The river was huge, it had to be at least two miles wide. If he followed its course he would reach the mountain chain early in the morning.   
   
His father told them that their mother was biased. A friend of hers lived in a monastery loyal to the empress during the time of the coup. And when the Empress’s uncle had risen to power he had dispatched an army to subdue everyone loyal to the previous emperor’s lineage. Shutoku, Touou, Kaijou, Rakuzan… they all had armies to protect themselves. But healers didn’t fight and the new Emperor’s men didn’t care. They killed, raped and burned everything. Only one woman survived long enough to cast a dark spell.   
   
Kagami chewed the meat. It was too salty for his taste, but it had to do. The thrum of the water was relaxing and the sway of the horse brought him some measure of comfort. The horse huffed from time to time.   
   
Everyone knew that story. It had given him nightmares for weeks, when his father had told it. He could still hear his mother say that only a monster could do such a thing and he could still hear his father’s answer: _“It was a necessary evil. This empire needs a strong leader._ ”   
   
After that, the queen had stopped sharing her bedroom with the king.    
   
The cool breeze brushed through him once again. Kagami looked at the encampment once again. There were torches moving. He took a deep breath feeling the tension return to him. So much activity so late at night only meant one thing:   
   
The hunt had begun.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO.MUCH.COMMENTS. I was so fricking happy when you guys talked to me and fangirled!! I've had a wonderful week and reading your thoughts on the story just made it a thousand times better! 
> 
> Regarding this chapter... I was a little bit scared that it would be boring but my wonderful betas: Unmei and Idi2 reassured me that, that wasn't the case at all. This is the first part of what was going to be chapter 3... It was getting insanely long so I decided to divide it into two chapters. 
> 
> SO! What did you think about this first part! was it good? was it bad? D: Do you want to scream at me: "I WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER NOW, WOMAN!" ? Tell me about it in the comments! you know how happy that makes me ;D


	4. Chapter 4

Aomine watched Kuroko dismount from his horse. The morning had risen even colder than the day before. It was well past noon and yet, the sun didn’t warm. Kuroko bent down and studied the ground.   
  
Behind Aomine and Kuroko stood; Wakamatsu, Riko and Imayoshi. Aomine grabbed the skin filled with water on the side of the horse he had borrowed and took two large gulps before setting it down.   
  
The grass was broken. Kuroko touched it softly, a thoughtful look on his face. He pressed his lips together and stepped forward, his eyes never leaving the ground.   
  
Aomine wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He took a deep breath. The gorge extended beyond them. The river had dug its way through the rock and continued its path across it. The water was so clear the rocky bottom could be seen. It was deep but the light played tricks on the eye making it seem shallow.   
  
He was becoming impatient.   
  
Wakamatsu approached Aomine along with Riko and Imayoshi.   
  
“Are you sure he came to the mountain pass?”   
  
Aomine craned his neck to look at Wakamatsu.   
  
“The tracks led to the river” he said with a cutting voice “And the river only takes to the pass”   
  
“It also goes back to Seirin” Wakamatsu snapped back, with an annoyed glare.   
  
Kuroko rose and looked at Aomine.   
  
“You were right Aomine-kun” he said while revealing a horse’s footprint between the grass “He followed the river into the mountain pass, he must’ve passed here over an hour earlier.”   
  
Aomine smirked at Wakamatsu.   
  
“You should leave the thinking to intelligent people Wakamatsu”   
  
Wakamatsu glared at Aomine.   
  
“And who the fuck pissed on your breakfast?”   
  
Imayoshi snorted. The air stung and their breaths came out in condensed puffs.   
  
“Nobody. The little prince stole his rations.”   
  
Aomine glared at Imayoshi. Both Riko and Wakamatsu exploded into a fit of laughs. it carried out in the breeze and mixed in with the shouts of the birds on the sky.   
  
Riko looked at Aomine while chuckling.   
  
“So, he’s pretty but not stupid.”   
  
“Yeah.” he murmured as his thoughts trailed elsewhere.   
  
Aomine gazed at the path before them. Kagami Taiga was a diamond in the rough. He had the spirit and strength of a true leader but Aomine couldn’t stand his immaturity. He was like a child throwing a tantrum and screaming for attention. They were at war, there was no time for bullshit like the one he’d pulled the previous night.   
  
He clenched his jaws in anger.   
  
Wakamatsu laughed.   
  
“You like the guy.” he exclaimed “C’mon, admit it, at least he shows some spirit!”   
  
Imayoshi and Riko started to laugh once again.   
  
“Don’t let yourself be bullied like that Aomine-kun!” Kuroko pitched in while mounting his horse once again.   
  
Aomine snapped out of his thoughts and looked at both of his men. A wolf grin spread through his face.   
  
“I see you’re having a really good time at my expense!” he exclaimed “Well, I hope you enjoy having extra drills tomorrow, Wakamatsu, Imayoshi.”   
  
The two men stopped laughing immediately which only made Riko’s laughs become harder.   
  
She slapped a hand over her stomach.   
  
“You should see your faces!”   
  
Kuroko shook his head with a badly concealed smile.   
  
“We should go.” he said.   
  
Aomine snorted and shook his head as well.  
  
“Let’s move!” he commanded.   
  
The four riders turned their horses into the same direction and urged them forward with laughs still bubbling up their throats. The path that led into the gorge was steep. The horses climbed it before the ground leveled up. The stone was of a soft, grey-brown color. It had horizontal cuts along it but the pass was wide and secure.   
  
“Let’s hunt the stray prince.” Riko cheered.   
  
The echoes of the sounds of the hooves reverberated through the stone and mixed with the thrum of running water below.   
  
Wakamatsu cheered as well.   
  
“Hell yeah!”   
  
                                                                                                                                                                                       ///  
  
Kagami felt sweat traveling down his back making his clothes stick to his body. The chain mail over him only made the feeling of suffocation greater and the cape he wore danced behind him. His hair was plastered onto his brow and even though the cold air cut through his cheeks, the heat enveloped him on every side.   
  
He had heard horses approaching not fifteen minutes ago. The echoes of the hooves on the canyon alerted him. He had controlled his urge to go at full force in fear of exhausting the horse. Now, he understood; that had been an extremely bad idea.   
  
Kagami’s lungs felt like they were ablaze. His mouth tasted like copper.   
  
There were small pebbles and larger rocks along the way from the usual landslides that occurred in the mountain.   
  
Kagami avoided them as he could but he hadn’t been trained in the art of horse riding. His movements were too strained. The horse was the one doing all the work.   
  
His mind was reeling with a mumbled mess of information. They had to have known he was coming to the gorge. It would have been impossible to have caught up to him as fast as they did. Their tracker had to be insanely good.   
  
The mountains passed by in a blur of grey and browns. There wasn’t any wildlife there, no trees, no animals, only the river below and the air of autumn passing through it.   
  
His heart rattled wildly inside his chest. Kagami took long breaths trying to even out the oxygen expenditure. His eyebrows furrowed. He knew he had to calm down. Panic and fear got people killed. It was the first thing they taught you in the army.   
  
Kagami’s lips were slightly chapped. There were heavy bags under his eyes. His face was pale and there was a headache starting to brew in his temple. The lack of sleep had finally gotten to him.   
  
Panic was bad, but he needed the adrenaline. He allowed himself to close his eyes for half a second. He was already planning on how to avoid getting caught and how to escape if he was taken once again.   
  
His arms were tense. The brown leather gloves he had held onto the reigns of the horse strongly. Kagami’s thighs were pressed onto the horse’s sides.   
  
Kagami offhandedly thought; that maybe, it had been a bad idea to ride with his armor. It weighed too much. He bit the inside of his cheek as the horse sidestepped a large rock.   
  
The thrill and adrenaline were soaring through his body. Kagami moved his hand to the knot where his cape was tied and released it. The cloth flew away from him. He’d have to take the chainmail shirt off as well.   
  
The echoes of the hooves behind him drew closer and when Kagami looked behind him, five riders were at his wake, Aomine at the head.   
  
He didn’t know if it was fear or excitement what he felt when he saw Aomine. Kagami cursed under his breath. His heart drummed inside his chest even faster than before. They rode like they had been born to the saddle.   
  
He heard Riko's cheer. It was part instinct, part technique. They seemed to be one with the animal, not two different beings.   
  
Kagami bent forward. The horse was sweating as much as him, if not more. He stroked the neck of the animal slowly and whispered words of encouragement in its ear.   
  
The cheers behind him were keeping him on edge.   
  
“Run, boy, run!” He heard Wakamatsu scream between laughs.   
  
Kagami clenched his teeth and urged the horse to move faster. The black stallion slowed down a little bit, trying to gain momentum and then shot forward even faster than before.   
  
“I’m going to fucking skin you alive, little prince!” He heard Aomine yell behind him.   
  
They were trying to send him into a panic. Kagami took deep breaths. He kept repeating in his mind what his brother always told him: “Fear is death. Control it, or you will lose.”   
  
He looked behind him and saw the storm inside Aomine’s eyes. But somehow Kagami sensed it was different from when they had been in the castle. It was more annoyance than anger.   
  
Kagami looked forward once again. The path was thinning. The sun shone over their heads. The water reflected its rays. The cold wind swept through them.   
  
It bothered Kagami. If Aomine wasn’t angry it only meant he didn’t view him as an equal, as a rival. He was just a bother. He clenched his jaws. For Aomine, Kagami was just the average new recruit, with the only exception of giving him a little more trouble than the rest.   
  
They thundered down the gorge. The ground trembled below them. Their shouts carried high into the sky.  
  
Kagami gritted his teeth against each other. He cursed at his naivety. He was probably more concerned about something happening to the horse than him escaping.   
  
His headache was starting to take form. It was as if a thousand needles were stabbing him between his eyes. Kagami clicked his tongue and let out an annoyed grunt.   
  
The sun was covered by a stray cloud. Adrenaline could only be relied upon for a while. He knew he was hitting his last reserves. Kagami looked behind him once again. They were gaining terrain over him.   
  
The horse was wheezing, the warmth it exuded reached even him. Its tongue lolled out of its mouth.   
  
Kagami was paler than before. His lips were almost white. He blinked with difficulty. Desperation hit him so hard it made him choke, but still he kept going forward.   
  
He tried to get his head in order but the pain was sharp. His muscles were burning.   
  
A rumble from above made his blood freeze in his veins. One large rock came rushing down onto them and fell right in front of the horse.   
  
The animal let out a terrified neigh and tried to go towards the left. The bag with the food and the money fell from the saddle. It made the horse trip. Kagami let out a scream and then a horrible crunch filled his ears.   
  
The next thing he knew he was falling. He heard Aomine scream: “SHADOW” and then Kagami was falling to the ground. The horse’s leg was twisted in an unnatural position, the animal had fallen as well.   
  
Kagami landed on his side. The hit was so intense he didn’t even process the pain. All the air was knocked out of his lungs. The momentum made him roll through the ground. Small pebbles cut his face and embedded themselves on his skin and then the ground disappeared under him.   
  
He let out a scream and before he fell over the canyon he held onto the edge. Kagami looked below him, the river was roaring past him. There were small trunks, algae and the shape of fish passing by.   
  
He was dangling over the canyon with just one arm to keep him from falling. He looked up. He was slipping. Part of him was screaming to yell for help. But his pride sealed his lips. His fingers were cold and stiff. The arm that was holding him trembled.   
  
Kagami clenched his teeth together. He willed his other arm to reach the edge as well. His feet scrambled to find a place where he could find support. A grunt of effort left his mouth. Kagami took off the glove of the hand that wasn’t holding onto anything. After two failed tries, he managed to hold on with the other hand.   
  
He placed his elbows on the rock floor. Kagami’s headache was becoming worse. He was out of breath, large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. There was blood wetting the uncovered hand.   
  
When he could see the gorge once again he saw the five riders down of their horses and making a circle around Shadow.   
  
Aomine’s face was anxious, he stroked the neck of the animal and then his fingers started to glow and the leg the poor animal had broken started to heal itself.   
  
Kagami felt anger rising to his throat. He almost fell to the river and they were worried about the horse. Kuroko was the only one who looked up. The eyes of the small rider widened when he saw him.   
  
“Aomine-kun!” he called   
  
Aomine looked up at Kuroko and then followed his eyesight. The man didn’t even try to look even slightly worried. The anger grew. Aomine turned towards Wakamatsu.   
  
“Wakamatsu, get the prince”   
  
And then it exploded into rage after that sentence. Kagami looked at the water below. Wakamatsu and Kuroko rushed towards him.   
  
“Hold on Kagami-kun!” Kuroko said holding onto one of his forearms and Wakamatsu at the other.   
  
Kagami was so tired he was having a hard time breathing. The coat of mail weighed too much. His side was numbed with pain. The headache wasn’t relenting. But the fury inside his chest made all of that seem like nothing.   
  
“Kagami!” Wakamatsu said, “Try to hoist yourself up!”   
  
He saw the blond man turn his head towards where the rest of the riders where.   
  
“Riko!” he shouted “Come help us!”   
  
The woman placed a hand on Aomine’s shoulder and rushed towards Kagami as well. Kagami clenched his teeth together. He pushed both Wakamatsu and Kuroko away. The two riders looked at him in surprise.   
  
“AOMINE!” Kagami roared   
  
Aomine stopped stroking the horse and looked up at him. That cold fury was edging once again inside his eyes. Kagami didn’t care.   
  
“If you want me,” he snarled “come get me.”  
  
And then, he let go of the canyon.   
  
Kuroko shouted:   
  
“No!”   
  
Wakamatsu's jaw fell slack.   
  
Riko’s eyes widened comically, and Aomine’s expression turned from anger to surprise mixed with horror in less than a second.   
  
Kagami couldn’t even scream before he was submerged under the water. The impact left his whole body crawling with pain. Darkness enveloped him. All sense of direction disappeared. Panic overcame him as water rushed into his lungs.   
  
The coat of mail was dragging him down. He squirmed out of it in a rush of pure survival instinct. He felt it go over his head and through his arms. Kagami opened his eyes in the water and saw it sinking down towards the bottom. The freezing river stung him like a thousand needles.  
  
The bubbles that came out of his mouth rose towards the surface. His head throbbed as horribly as before. He followed the bubbles and in two strong strokes he reached the precious air above.   
  
Kagami spat out water and coughed violently.   
  
“He’s alive!” he heard someone say above him.   
  
The current was pushing him down the river. Kagami looked up and saw the five riders looking down at him. His teeth began to chatter against each other. The other glove had been lost in the fall. He was exhausted but he couldn’t give up. He couldn’t give up without having tried everything.   
  
“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?” he screamed at Aomine “ARE YOU SCARED!?”   
  
Kagami, despite the tiredness, couldn’t help but taunt the General. He could almost see the glare Aomine directed his way.   
  
The river had small algae floating over it. Fishes swam pass him. Kagami saw Aomine taking his armor away. The other riders were trying to stop him. Their exclamations got lost in the echoes.   
  
He couldn’t understand why he felt such a rush whenever he got a rise out of the other man. He couldn’t understand why he felt so much anger whenever he was ignored by the other man.   
  
Kagami turned around and started to swim. He wasn’t truly aware of how he was even moving forward, but he was. And then he heard the “Splash” of a body falling into the water and the screams of the people above him.   
  
The current was doing most of the job. Kagami wheezed in effort. The headache was hammering through his temple.   
  
He looked back and saw Aomine coming up for air. He scanned around him and then their eyes met. Aomine’s glare was like steel. Kagami turned around and started to swim as fast as he could.   
  
His strokes were wide but not as powerful as Aomine’s. Water came into his mouth from time to time. The side where he had landed on stung, he figured he must’ve broken his skin there.   
  
“Who’s scared now!?” Aomine screamed to his back.   
  
Kagami took a deep breath.   
  
“Not me!” he screamed back at him.   
  
A huge trunk of a tree was in the middle of the river, stuck between two rocks. Kagami was rushing onto it. He took two deep breaths and submerged under the water and went below the trunk. When he resurfaced Aomine dunk down as he had done.   
  
And then he felt a hand wrapping around his ankle. Kagami cursed loudly before he went below as well. Kagami opened his eyes under the water and saw Aomine looking straight back at him.   
  
A trout shot past them. There was a glare on Aomine’s face. He captured Kagami’s wrist and then twirled them around so that his elbow was behind his back. They went up to the surface in a fit of coughs.   
  
Kagami couldn’t move his arm.   
  
“You almost killed my horse!” he shouted into Kagami’s ear.   
  
Kagami let out a frustrated roar. He squirmed and then his head connected with Aomine’s nose. Aomine let out a yell and released him. Kagami started to swim once again. He turned around. Blood was gushing out of Aomine’s nose.   
  
He let out an involuntary laugh. The other man snapped his head towards him.   
  
“You fuck!” he screamed at Kagami.   
  
He started to swim after him once again. The blood tinted the water. Kagami’s arms were ablaze. Every stroke hurt, every kick hurt.   
  
Kagami noticed that they were reaching the end of the canyon. The two banks of the river began to spread before his eyes. The forest of The Moon spread before them. Kagami swam diagonally towards the right side. Where there wasn’t a pass.   
  
He reached the bank with a huff. He tried to haul himself out of the water. But it was like all his strength had abandoned him. Kagami clenched his teeth. He dug his nails into the dirt and willed himself to get the upper half of his body out of the water.   
  
Aomine was already out. He was holding a hand over his nose. The white shirt he had had underneath the armor, now stuck to his body perfectly. His hair was wet, the water accumulated on his eyelashes and dripped into the ground with each blink.   
  
Kagami closed his eyes. A plan was forming inside his head. He needed just a little more of his forces. He sent a quiet prayer to Nya, the goddess of battles, strength and bravery.   
  
He heard Aomine’s footsteps getting close to him. The general was panting. He felt a tap of a boot to his ribs.   
  
“Hey!” the strong voice of Aomine resonated inside his ears.   
  
Kagami snapped his eyes opened, he grabbed Aomine’s ankle and with a yell he pulled from it. Aomine flailed and then fell to the ground. Kagami shot up with the last of his strength and sprinted into the woods without looking back.   
  
He heard Aomine curse. Kagami knew he had nowhere to go anymore. Even if he somehow miraculously reached the capital of Lyran. He had lost all his weapons, armor, food, money and horse. But he was stubborn and would rather live in misery than let himself give up just because all seemed lost.   
  
Small branches broke under his boots. All his clothes stuck to his body uncomfortably. He wasn’t moving like a coordinated person. His lungs felt like they were ready to explode, all his muscles were in tension. Aomine ran behind him. His footsteps were drawing closer and closer.   
  
“All this!” Aomine exclaimed “Just because you’re scared!?”  
  
Kagami stopped and turned around. His heart beat loudly in his chest. A glare painted on his face. His breathing was difficult and uneven.   
  
“No!” he growled at him.   
  
Aomine was also breathing heavily. He looked as bad as Kagami felt but the difference was in how they carried themselves. Kagami could barely hold himself up, meanwhile Aomine was standing tall and unwavering.   
  
“I’m not scared!” he snarled once again.   
  
“Then why are you running?” The bleeding hadn’t stopped. There were drops of blood on the almost see through white shirt Aomine was wearing.   
  
Kagami took two deep breaths and stood as tall as Aomine. He clenched his fists together and adopted a fighting stance.   
  
“Because I will never give myself to you!”   
  
“Is that what you’ve been telling yourself?”   
  
Frustration started to brew inside Kagami’s chest.   
  
“You want me to serve you.” Kagami spat “And I’d rather die than let myself do that!”   
  
His heart rattled against his ribcage. His eyes darted along Aomine’s frame.   
  
Aomine snorted without joy.   
  
“You think you’re being brave.” he stated.   
  
Kagami frowned. Aomine shook his head and murmured something under his breath before staring back at him.   
  
“You think that running away is bravery?” Aomine took a step towards him.  
  
Kagami opened his mouth and then closed it. He looked down and then up.   
  
“I asked you a question!” Aomine’s voice echoed throughout the forest.   
  
A flock of birds rose from the trees and flew towards the skies.   
  
“You kidnapped me!” he screamed at him “I’m your hostage!”   
  
Kagami’s fists were so tightly closed his nails were being imbedded in his palms. The branches above them moved by the breeze. A shiver travelled down his spine.   
  
“I’m going to give you your first lesson then, prince” Aomine spat “Running away is what cowards do”  
  
The scorn was clear in Aomine’s tone of voice. The hammering inside his skull was driving him crazy.  
  
His mind was trying to find a way to refute what Aomine was saying and not finding a counter argument made the anger inside of him start to bubble up his throat.   
  
Aomine stared at him.   
  
“What did you think war was, prince?” he asked. “Did you think it was like in the songs they sing at the palace halls?”  
  
Kagami breathed heavily.   
  
“Did you think that everything would go as you planned?” He pointed at Kagami.   
  
His face had twisted into terrible expression. Aomine shook his head while coming even closer to him.   
  
“War is unfair and unjust, war is filthy, bloody, there’s nothing glorious about killing” he snarled “Heroes don’t exist, in war there are only men. Men who live, who die, who win and who lose”   
  
Kagami stood his ground, as if the thought of moving for something else that wasn’t for attacking was unthinkable.   
  
“And you lost” he said “And instead of accepting your destiny with honor. You acted like a spoiled brat. Dishonored your family name with your fear”   
  
“That’s not true!” Kagami yelled.  
  
Aomine clicked his tongue.   
  
“No?” he asked, “Then what do you call this?”   
  
“Not giving up!” Kagami said back at him. “Not letting others control you!”   
  
Aomine closed his eyes for a moment. His nose was turning purple and the blood was slowly coagulating   
  
“So, do you think your brother would’ve run if it were him in your position?”   
  
Kagami paled even more and stared at Aomine with his mouth opened. He took a sharp breath. There was only one answer to that question. Kagami’s eyebrows furrowed and then the anger of the truth mixed in with the pain it brought and exploded inside of him.   
  
“DON’T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT HIM!” his heart was twisting in pain.  
  
“I see” Aomine said   
  
Kagami saw red after that. He went for him in a fit of pure rage. Aomine side stepped him easily making him fall to the ground. A roar exploded from within his chest at the humiliation. His side stung, his head hurt, his muscles trembled.   
  
“Your brother was a man, acted like a man, fought like a man and died like a man” Aomine said “But you...”   
  
The look of disgust on Aomine’s face was so intense Kagami felt an intense sense of shame washing through him.   
  
“You’re a coward.” he said   
  
“NO!” Kagami screamed   
  
“Yes, you are!” Aomine yelled back at him  
  
“I’M NOT A COWARD!” Kagami screamed, small bits of saliva sprayed the ground.  
  
“So, go on, leave!” Aomine continued   
  
Kagami tried to get up once again while letting out another yell. Aomine stepped away from him and opened his arms.   
  
“Leave, run, live like a coward and die like a coward” Aomine shook his head “And all you will be remembered for is by the prince who ran, the prince who abandoned his people, abandoned his family, and all of that just because he was too afraid”   
  
Aomine turned his back to Kagami and started to walk away. Kagami looked at the ground. He was on his hands and knees. The frustration, pride, anger, humiliation, pain. It all mixed together in a jumble of feelings he couldn’t shake. He felt like there was a physical ball on his throat.   
  
Kagami wanted to scream more than before. He wanted to kick and cry. He didn’t want to be there. He didn’t want to be among those people. Kagami took a deep breath.   
  
“Hey!” he screamed.   
  
The other man just kept walking away. Kagami clenched his jaws and with great effort he stood up.   
  
“Hey!” he exclaimed again.   
  
Aomine didn’t even turn. He was just making his way back to the river. His steps wide and sure. Kagami took a step forward and then another.   
  
“AOMINE!” Kagami yelled at last.   
  
The General stopped and looked back at him. Kagami was wet, beaten, dirty, tired. He squared his shoulders.   
  
“I’m not a coward!” he screamed at him   
  
Aomine stared at him.  
  
“I’M NOT A COWARD, DO YOU HEAR ME!?” he roared losing the little composure he had left.   
  
Kagami pressed his lips together. He took a deep breath.   
  
“I’ll go back to your wretched camp!” he said  
  
Kagami felt frustration washing over him.   
  
Aomine didn’t say anything, he just stared.   
  
“But I’m going back to be the best!” he screamed at him “To honor my brother! And when they write about this time it will be my name they’ll remember! Not yours! You hear me!? When the Kesian Empire becomes nothing but dust, trampled underfoot, people will still sing the tales of Kagami Taiga!”   
  
The wind picked up ruffling the fallen leaves and passing through the branches of the trees. The cold smell of noon still in the air. The sun seemed to shine brighter than before.   
  
“It will be Kagami Taiga, born under the lion star of the war goddess Nya, who they’ll remember, as your bones rot under the dirt!” Kagami said “Not you.”   
  
He was trembling from the emotion and tiredness alike. He felt a pit at the bottom of his stomach. Kagami was so tired he felt nauseous.   
  
Aomine held his stare.   
  
“Do you hear me Aomine!?” His throat hurt from all the screaming. Aomine’s name came out broken and scratchy.   
  
The thrumming of horses approaching made them both tense up. Kuroko was the first one to appear and then Wakamatsu, Riko and Imayoshi. They had Shadow and the other horse with them as well.   
  
Both relaxed slightly.   
  
Kuroko got down before the horse had even stopped.   
  
“Aomine-kun!” he exclaimed “What you did was extremely reckless!”   
  
He looked at Kagami as well.   
  
“You two could’ve died!” Kuroko didn’t raise his voice, but there was something powerful about his tone of voice.   
  
The moment had been broken.   
  
Aomine ripped his eyes away from Kagami slowly and directed his gaze towards Kuroko.   
  
“How the hell did you get here?”   
  
Kuroko glared at him.   
  
“There was a passing ahead that connected the two river sides” he said   
  
Riko stepped down of her own horse. She grabbed the cape Aomine had left behind and approached him with it.   
  
“You’re an asshole, Aomine” she snapped “What would’ve happened if you died!?”   
  
Aomine rolled his eyes   
  
“I didn’t die.”   
  
Riko scoffed and threw the cape to him.   
  
“You’re lucky Satsuki likes you.” she said “Now, dry yourself, you’re going to get a cold.”   
  
Kagami already felt an itch in his throat. Wakamatsu got down of his own horse followed by Imayoshi. The blond man approached Kagami taking off his own cape. He extended it towards Kagami.   
  
“Here you go.”   
  
Kagami was still shaking from the emotion of what had happened before. He looked away from him.   
  
“I don’t want it.” he said.   
  
The blond man shook his head and scoffed.   
  
“Whatever, suit yourself.”   
  
Imayoshi smiled.   
  
“I only heard about your stubbornness through other people” his smile was unsettling “It’s more impressive in person.”   
  
Kagami stared at the other man.   
  
“And you are?”   
  
“Imayoshi, nice to meet you.”   
  
Wakamatsu snorted. Kagami looked between the two of them. Wakamatsu grabbed Imayoshi’s hand, linking their fingers together, and tugged from him.   
  
“Don’t mess with the kid.”   
  
Imayoshi laughed and walked away from him. Kagami looked back at Shadow. He felt regret washing over him. It was just a horse but he suddenly felt the need to apologize to it. The leg looked fine now that it was healed.   
  
Just when he had finished his thought Aomine made his way to the horse. He placed his forehead on its forehead. His hand stroking the neck of the animal. He was whispering softly to it.   
  
Kagami looked away, he blinked a few times. He felt heavy, too heavy. The world began to spin. The coldness gripped at every part of his body.   
  
Kagami stepped to the side. The nausea overtook him again. He looked at the nearest tree. The only thought in his mind was to get to it so he could hold onto something. He managed one step.   
  
A cloud of dark dots passed through his eyes.   
  
“Kagami-kun?” he heard Kuroko asking him.   
  
He turned to him.   
  
“Yes?” even talking was hard.   
  
“Are you okay?” his voice sounded far away.   
  
Kagami swallowed and nodded. He pointed to the tree.   
  
“I just need a second.” he said.  
  
And then his knees gave out and he was falling. He wanted to stop the fall with his arms, but they weren’t responding. He felt pain exploding on his temple when his head collided against the floor. His eyes closed. Kagami heard people rushing over to him. And then, nothing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled A LOT with this chapter! (Unmei and Idi2 know it... cause they've suffered it... they're angels! Okay? like, seriously, I'm a nightmare to be around when I get insecure.) But in the end I was super happy with the result! I think I did a good job on this one!
> 
> But what I reaaaally want to know is... What did YOU think about it? Was it good? Was it bad D: ? tell me in the comments!! 
> 
> PS- ON THE NEXT CHAPTER TAKAO MAKES HIS GRAND APPEARENCE! BE EXCITED!!!! I'm so nervous, I haven't written Takao ever.... and and and I hope I get him right. 
> 
> Ps2- There will be more horsie bonding time on the following chapters. I'm living for it, so be prepared for scenes of horsie x Baka or horsie x Aho or Aho and Baka arguing while horsie ignores them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SCREAMING BECAUSE I CAN'T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY UPDATED ANYTHING A A A AA A A AA A A A THANK YOU WRITING GODS FOR BLESSING ME WITH INSPIRATION *Weeps*

Kagami woke up to a bucket of freezing water being tossed at his face. He spluttered, shouting curses, and scrambled to his feet, but his legs gave out under him, making the redhead fall to the ground.

 

His whole body felt sore and aching and his throat hurt as if it were being struck by a thousand needles. The camp was brimming with the noises of packing. The tents were being rolled, armor, weapons and horses readied. 

 

Kagami looked around disoriented, blinking rapidly and gasping for air, profoundly disoriented.

 

The echoes of orders being barked by the officers and the chatter of the soldiers all around traveled with the wind. A few pikemen walked by, some glaring at Kagami, others eyeing him with overt curiosity.

 

As he took in his surroundings, all the memories since the battle until that moment flashed through his brain like a bolt. The feeling of surreality sent waves of nausea through his body.  

 

“Get up.” Aomine ordered in a harsh tone.  

 

He towered above Kagami. His frame cut in the setting sun. Goosebumps broke all over Kagami’s skin and a chill shot down his spine. The grass beneath him was moist and the smell of earth was strong.

 

Before his brain had time to process who it was that had barked the order, his body reacted and he stood up. His muscles were trembling. The pain, was indescribable. Even breathing was hard. 

 

“We will march the entire night.” Aomine said turning away from him. “Put on your armour.”

 

Kagami’s eyes focused on Aomine. His legs felt wobbly and despite the nausea, his stomach rolled with hunger. 

 

The vision of his armour falling to the bottom of the river passed through his brain.

 

Humiliation became as real as the cold autumn air, when he remembered the failed attempt at escaping. Aomine’s words had cut deeper than any sword. He clenched his teeth together. 

 

“I don’t have one.” he rasped out.

 

Aomine stopped and looked back, clearly annoyed. The light of the slowly falling sun created shadows on Aomine’s face. 

 

For a moment Kagami believed Aomine would make him march without an armour. Soldiers who marched without armour were considered to be the lowest ranking soldiers in any army, mere peasants without the means to even feed themselves, much less afford the panoply of war.

 

Kagami matched Aomine’s expression, in a vain attempt at filling himself with courage if Aomine chose to humiliate him so. Aomine’s eyes seemed to have become darker as they held each other’s stare. Kagami could feel his heart ramming against his ribcage. 

 

“Wakamatsu.” Aomine exclaimed looking away. 

 

Kagami’s eyes were drawn to the arch of Aomine’s neck as he craned his head backwards to look at the blond soldier. The curve of his neck was elegant, his skin smooth and the muscles were outlined beneath it. 

 

Wakamatsu turned to gaze at them. He wasn’t far from the pair, he was preparing his horse while Imayoshi rolled their tent. 

 

“Give the princeling an armour.” Aomine said, practically spitting out the word “princeling”. 

 

He looked back at Kagami making Kagami snap his gaze upwards. Kagami felt a wave of relief washing through his entire body. They held each other’s stare for another second before Aomine grunted and turned sharply, walking towards the tent of the empress without so much as a look back at Kagami. 

 

Anger fluttered up the redhead’s throat, but there was something underneath that anger, something that resembled gratitude too much for his own liking. Kagami was sure of his feeling of hatred towards Aomine but he couldn’t rationalize the reason behind the feeling as strongly as before. Kagami gritted his teeth together. 

 

Wakamatsu looked at Kagami. When the other man finished saddling the horse he turned away 

 

“You’re lucky, boy.” Wakamatsu said before going to look for an armour for him. 

 

Kagami ignored Wakamatsu completely as he followed Aomine with his eyes.The blue haired general had placed his armour once again. He looked bigger and more imposing with it on. His steps were strong and wide. The way he moved exuded confidence and power. It wasn’t until the other man entered the empress tent that Kagami’s eyes moved away from him. 

 

He wanted to scream. While regarding Aomine he had suddenly thought about everything he had said back at the river bench. Kagami had spoken out in a fit of rage. One thing was stating all the things he would do and another thing entirely was doing them. 

 

There were two carts pulled by oxen ready to store the tent of the empress and its belongings by its side.  

 

Kagami’s muscles bunched and relaxed. His throat felt like fire. He couldn’t focus his eyes in one place in particular. His gaze kept jumping from place to place. 

 

He wanted to prove himself to Aomine. He wanted to show him just how powerful and strong he was. He wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. He wanted to asphyxiate that condescending tone Aomine used with him. 

 

Kagami was so focused in his own thoughts he didn’t notice the soft steps approaching him from behind. 

 

“So you are the famous prince.” an amused voice said behind him. 

 

Kagami turned around slightly startled by the interruption. A smaller man with dark hair parted at each side and grey eyes was standing with a steaming cup of tea not two feet apart from him. 

 

Kagami furrowed his eyebrows. 

 

“What?” 

 

The hot infusion that the smaller man had in his hands smelled like honey. 

 

“Here” he extended the cup towards Kagami, completely ignoring his question “Aomine said your throat was sore. This will calm it.” 

 

Kagami took the cup and inspected the liquid, suspiciously. 

 

“Are you sure it’s not poisoned?” 

 

The other man snorted. 

 

“I’m Takao by the way.” he said “And if Aomine wanted you dead, you would be.” 

 

Kagami didn’t taste the mixture. Part of him wanted to go ahead and drink it but there was another part of him that was screaming at him. Accepting something from his brother’s murderer. Kagami clenched the fist that wasn’t holding the cup. His eyes went towards Takao and after a moment of hesitation he spoke.

 

“Well,” Kagami started with a glare painting his features “If he wants my throat to heal, then he can do it himself” 

 

And with that he threw the cup to the ground and turned away. 

 

The smaller man barked out a laugh and walked up to him until they were side by side. 

 

“Feisty.” Takao said teasingly. 

 

Kagami furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the man. 

 

“Just how Aomine likes them.” he winked at Kagami 

 

Kagami felt his face explode in color and he spluttered over his words. 

 

“What the hell!?” he asked loudly. His heart started to thump loudly 

 

Takao started laughing. 

 

“You should see your face” he said between chuckles “that was an extreme reaction, Kagami-san, are you perhaps attracted to Aomine in some manner?”

 

Kagami physically choked on his saliva. His face growing redder as he struggled to breath in properly. 

 

“I want to rip his guts out!” Kagami exclaimed. His voice cracked at the end of the sentence. “If that’s attraction then fuck yes, I am really attracted to him!”

 

Takao kept laughing at him

 

“Attraction and hate are two different things, you are aware of this, yes?” Takao teased further 

 

Kagami glared at the smaller man. A growl started to rise up his throat. 

 

“You are trying to make fun of me.” 

 

Takao looked at Kagami

 

“Me?” he asked, a false affectation to his voice “Never.” 

 

He bursted in a fit of laughter after he said that. Kagami tried hard to make himself angry but somehow the light heartedness of the other man and his contagious laugh made him smile lightly. 

 

Kagami rolled his eyes and scoffed. 

 

“Asshole.” he said. 

 

A strange feeling passed by Kagami. And then he realized, that this had been the first normal conversation he had had since the battle had occurred. 

 

Takao turned to look at him. 

 

The realization made Kagami’s mood sour. A grim expression took over his face as he stood where he had been woken, still dripping with water, looking forward. The empress soldiers were quick and efficient. They didn’t waste a single second. 

 

“For real, now.” Takao said “Throwing the cup was a stupid move”

 

Kagami looked at him with a raised eyebrow. 

 

“A fever will break while we’re marching.” he said “And then the mountains will come and the fever will persist.” 

 

Takao’s eyes were amused, as he looked up at Kagami. 

 

“And if you think for a moment that Aomine is going to stop because of you.” He snorted again “Then you’re in for a surprise.” 

 

Kagami furrowed his eyebrows into a glare at the thought of Aomine. His face appeared clearly in Kagami’s brain. The intense hate he had felt the days before had weakened which only made Kagami’s anger rise. Just because the blue headed bastard had shown an inch of compassion he was already becoming soft. Kagami wanted to hit himself.  

 

“I don’t want anything that man can give me.” he snarled in the end, “I only want his throat cut open and his blood on the grass.” 

 

Takao sighed softly and threw his hands up. 

 

“Whatever you say, Kagami-san.” Takao said.

 

In that moment Wakamatsu approached them with a large bundle of armoured clothing, and threw it at Kagami’s feet. 

 

“Dress up” he commanded. 

 

His eyes shifted towards Takao and then to the discarded cup on the ground. 

 

“Don’t waste your time with miss prince.” Wakamatsu said “Everything offends him.” 

 

He turned around and walked away. 

 

Takao shook his head. There was a moment of silence. Kagami saw Wakamatsu meet Imayoshi as the other man placed the cloth of the tent on his own horse. The two warriors had a small moment of intimacy between them. 

 

Kagami looked at the armour. He started to feel the first chills of a fever raking his body. But he refused to acknowledge it. 

 

Takao whistled softly after Wakamatsu stormed off.

 

“You’re not really good at making friends, are you?” 

 

Kagami felt a sharp sting in his chest. A flash of the battle passed through his eyes once again. The faces of the people he’d trained with, his real friends. Cut open, with their heads smashed by the cavalry. Their screams echoing in his brain.  

 

“You killed my friends.” Kagami said bowing down to pick the pieces of the armour 

 

A man Kagami recognized as one of the generals approached them. He had green hair and a pair of lenses propped up on the bridge of his nose.  

 

“Takao.” He exclaimed from his spot “What are you doing?” 

 

Takao’s smile took over his entire face. 

 

“Shin-chan!” he waved madly at him. 

 

Kagami furrowed his eyebrows and saw how the other man’s face took an exasperated expression. 

 

“I already told you not to address me as such in front of the common people.” he retorted. “Now come, I’m in need of your aid.”

 

Kagami rose his eyebrows at the disrespect. 

 

“I’ll be here in a moment” he said, in a sing song voice. 

 

The man with the green hair grunted and turned away and into his tent. 

 

“I’m sorry we killed your friends prince” Takao said “But you should’ve surrendered” 

 

Kagami clenched his teeth and snapped his head back at Takao. 

 

“You shouldn’t have attacked” Kagami bit back.

 

“Your territories were my mistress’s birthright,” Takao continued “You punish the thieves in your kingdom, right?” 

 

Kagami opened his mouth to protest but nothing came out of it. Takao smiled at him. 

 

“I enjoyed talking with you.” Takao said “If the fever is too high I will fix you another cup of the infusion.” 

 

Kagami found Takao an extremely strange person but somehow he couldn’t bring himself to dislike him 

 

“This time it will be from me, not Aomine.” he winked at Kagami and he started to walk towards the tent while still looking at him “So you can drink it.” 

 

Kagami huffed and shook his head. 

 

“Deal?” Takao asked. 

 

Kagami took a moment before he shook his head once again and nodded. 

 

“Deal...” 

 

Takao raised his thumbs and then turned away and rushed into the tent the green-haired man had entered. 

 

Kagami was left there. With armour in hand, his throat aching badly, his muscles straining with exhaustion and a strange feeling in his chest. 

 

///

  
  


Takao had been right. The fever had just gotten worse when they reached the mountains. Due to the steep terrain they had dismounted the horses and had been walking for what felt like years. 

 

They had barely rested in the day that had taken them to reach the mountains. Three hours in total. 

 

Kagami barely saw where he was going to step next. The wind howled past them. Each of the soldiers had a torch that flickered with each gust of wind. 

 

The temperatures had drop drastically since they started the ascend during the night but still, Kagami felt the cold sweat of fever sticking to his clothes and making him tremble. 

 

When they reached the mountains he had wondered to himself why the army hadn’t taken the path he had taken when he was fleeing the camp to cross to the Lyran territory. It seemed the fastest alternative. But then he realized that an army as big as the one he was now part of would be seen coming from a distance and would have been extremely vulnerable when crossing the narrow path. 

 

Despite his growing temperature, he couldn’t stop shaking. Some soldiers looked at him. Kagami clenched his jaws trying to stop the chattering of his teeth. The only thought in his mind was taking the next step. 

 

Aomine went back and forth from the rear to the front accompanied by Wakamatsu and Imayoshi. A newfound respect had started to brew inside of Kagami at their actions. For all their faults he had to admit that they were a good leaders. 

 

“MOVE!” Aomine’s booming voice carried through the line “WE ARE THE IRON FIST OF TOUOU, THE ELITE OF THE EMPRESS! WE DON’T TIRE, WE DON’T STOP, WE DON’T REST!”

 

There were screams of approval and for a few moments the pace of the soldiers lightened and the line moved faster. Aomine’s voice was taken over by Wakamatsu as he kept speaking pushing the forces forward. 

 

Kagami put one leg in front of the other. The reins of his horse clutched tightly in his palm. He had taken a liking to the old mare. She wasn’t the fiercest animal but it was a nice change to the violence that seemed to surround him on every turn. 

 

He felt Aomine’s presence beside him. Shadow’s breath on his ear. He turned to look at the horse and it bowed its head softly. Kagami wanted to smile at it. It felt like it was saying hello. But the sharp focus of Aomine’s blue eyes was what caught Kagami’s entire attention. 

 

“The best huh?!” Aomine exclaimed to him over the sound of the roaring wind “I see a thick line of men in front of you, little prince! Your best is what my average soldier manages to do!?” 

 

Kagami gritted his teeth. Chill after chill ran down his spine. His throat was so swollen he couldn’t even swallow. His clothes stuck disgustingly to his frame and the armour brushed relentlessly over the points were his clothes were too thin, opening up his skin. Kagami’s muscles screamed with tiredness. 

 

The storming of the hundreds of foots hitting the rock ground, the roll of the war drums that echoed through the mountain and the thousands of lit torches must’ve been a terrifying sight. Kagami was sure every man, woman and child from the Lyran kingdom was trembling in their houses. 

 

He tightened up his pace leaving Aomine behind as well as a good amount of soldiers, as an answer to Aomine’s question. Kagami craned his neck back and saw that Aomine had turned his attention to the rest of the line. 

 

“What is this!? A soft Seirin princeling is going faster than you!?” Aomine shouted to his soldiers “Is this the strength of Touou?!” 

 

The Touou soldiers roared as one, and started to tighten up their pace to catch up on Kagami. Kagami took on the challenge and pushed himself further. He could practically feel Aomine’s eyes on his neck but when he turned to look at them, Aomine was going backwards to keep riling up the troops. 

 

It wasn’t until noon the next day that they stopped. Kagami thought he was going to cry from relief. Everyone dropped to the floor like wasted leaves. Most of the soldiers managed to lit a fire and heat something to eat before passing out until they made the final march before, what Kagami supposed, was going to be the field of battle. 

 

They had sent Kuroko and his scouts forward to make arrangements in case of surrender. But Kagami knew the Lyran King and he knew that the man would rather die than give up his power. 

 

The hunger had waned through the days. The only thing he wanted was to sleep but he also knew that without medicine he would become even more sick. He remembered the strange little man he had met a few days back, to Takao, and his proposal. 

 

His eyes went through the line of soldiers in search of him. The empress’s warriors looked exhausted. Kagami spotted Imayoshi and Wakamatsu leaning on each other, their eyes closed and their capes thrown over them. 

 

It was in those moments when Kagami felt the loneliest. It was in those moments, when he thought of his home. Of his friends, of his brothers in arms. In this army he was a stranger. He had no friends, no family, he had no one to lean his head on, no one to feel safe with.   

 

The smell of food did nothing to open his appetite. There were soft conversations being held. The sun did little to warm and bad looking clouds were rolling from the east. Stretching towards the horizon was the Lyran territory. Kagami felt his stare lose itself in the landscape. 

 

His mind drifted towards his childhood years. When everything was right and everything felt balanced. He remembered playing with his brother and his best friend at the king of the mountain. He remembered their shoves, screams and laughter. 

 

The cold air and the pain coursing through his body grounded him in the present. Kagami knew he could never go back. But still, he felt like he could almost graze that lost happiness when he thought of those moments. 

 

Kagami ripped his gaze away from the horizon and let his eyes travel through the camp. He spotted Shadow not far from where he was, Aomine was beside it and was guiding it towards them. 

 

An uncomfortable feeling took over him. None of his muscles were reacting. He felt completely spent. If Aomine ordered him to do something he would most likely have to refuse, and not because of pride but because he wouldn't be able to do it even if he wanted to. 

 

The pain on his throat and the fever raking his body was more than enough proof that Takao had been right. He had been stupid for not taking the tea given to him. Kagami cursed himself under his breath. 

 

He let his head fall to the rock that was supporting his back. There were small spots dancing in his vision. His eyes felt warm and wet because of the fever. He knew he had to, at least, take off his helmet  to be able to sleep with some measure of comfort. 

 

Aomine’s steps became clearer as he approached Kagami. The crunching of the earth under Aomine’s and Shadow’s feet stopped right in front of him, blocking out the sun. Kagami tilted his head towards them and saw Aomine was giving him something. 

 

“Food.” the general said. 

 

Kagami shook his head and looked away. Apart from not being hungry he couldn’t actually swallow anything. Even his saliva was proving to be an effort. He didn’t want to imagine the pain of having to swallow something more solid. 

 

Aomine clicked his tongue and threw the bag with the food at his feet. 

 

“I wasn’t asking.” Aomine said “Make a fire, and prepare the food.” 

 

Kagami, even in his weakened state, felt how the rage began to build up in his gut at the way Aomine was talking to him. He saw how the other man turned towards Shadow and began to unsaddle him. 

 

With great effort, Kagami managed to rise his arms to take off his helmet, a groan escaped his mouth, there was a rash on his chin were the helmet tied and he was sure that he had opened his skin in other places where the armour touched his bare skin. 

 

He remembered the softness and warmth of his chambers. The feeling of the warm milk with sugar and bread he usually had for breakfast, the smell of the burning wood impregnating his room. It seemed like a thousand years had gone by since he had left home. 

 

Aomine looked at him and by the look in his eyes he figured he must’ve looked like shit. He hadn’t bathed since the dip in the river and he had been sweating and feverish for the last two days. 

 

“You didn’t take the tea.” Aomine said. 

 

Shadow huffed. Aomine dropped the saddle on the ground and got closer to Kagami. Kagami frowned and tried to move away from him. Aomine’s hand snapped forward and held him in place as the other was placed over his forehead. 

 

“You’re like a fucking child.” Aomine gritted out “Open your fucking mouth.” 

 

Kagami tried to growl at him but it came out as a ridiculous choking sound. Aomine held his face firmly and squeezed his jaw. 

 

“Open your mouth and stick out your tongue.” he ordered. 

 

Aomine’s fingers were digging painfully into his face muscles.

 

“No.” Kagami managed to croak out. 

 

Aomine’s face became harder. He got closer to his face until their noses were almost brushing each other. 

 

“I wasn’t asking, little prince.” he said through his teeth, applying more pressure to his hold on Kagami’s face, “Now open your mouth, before I open it myself.” 

 

Kagami glared at Aomine. And after a few more moments of resistance Kagami bulged and he did as he was told. Aomine clicked his tongue once again. 

 

“Un-fucking-believable.” He pushed Kagami’s face away from him and he stood up in a fluid motion “Stay there.” 

 

He snapped at him as he turned away. 

 

“It’s not like I can go anywhere.” Kagami answered back barely managing to speak out the words. 

 

Aomine glared at him. 

 

“Don’t get smart.” 

 

Aomine tied the old mare to a trunk that protruded out of a rock. He stroked the thick neck of the horse softly. It was weird watching Aomine being gentle with anything. He palmed the neck of the animal two times and turned away. He said something to Shadow and the large stallion shook its head and approached Kagami. 

 

He frowned when he saw Shadow lowering itself to the ground and settling its large body as near to him as possible. The warmth that it exuded was comforting and the chills that made his whole body shake relented slightly. 

  
  


Kagami followed Aomine with his eyes until he got too far away for him to see. He looked at Shadow and found himself thinking that the animal had just done something out of its own volition because its master had just asked him too.  

 

He didn’t know healers could control animals to do their bidding. Shadow’s eyes were sharp and focused on everything that was going on around them. Kagami could feel its muscles were tense, ready to spring back up at the tiniest of threats. 

 

The young prince shook his head and moved closer to the horse. Kagami let out a painful breath. All his joints felt stiff and ready to break if he did a harsh movement. 

 

Kagami looked around him to trying to spot Takao to ask for that infusion before Aomine came with what he guessed was a remedy for his throat. He wanted to get better, but he didn’t want to get better because of Aomine Daiki. 

 

His hands were cold. Kagami missed his leather gloves with all his might in that moment. He cursed his stupidity for trying to escape. It had served for nothing more than to lose his most precious belongings. 

 

In the time they had been travelling Kagami had noticed that Takao was always around the green-haired general. He had also witnessed some of their expressions of affection and suddenly Takao calling the other man “Shin-chan” wasn’t strange in the slightest. And so, he guessed that the smaller man had to be in the vicinity since neither of the generals usually strayed too far from each other. 

 

Kagami noticed the stares some of the soldiers were giving him. They were short and worried. His usual honey-like skin was pale and beaded with sweat. His hair was matted and plastered to his forehead and there were large bags underneath his eyes. 

 

He wished he could stand up to look for Takao. But he was beyond exhaustion. The sound of Shadow’s breathing was soothing enough that he was struggling to keep his eyes opened. Deep down Kagami thanked that he felt so exhausted. It meant that he wouldn't have to dream with anything. He slowly felt his eyes closing. Just for a moment. Kagami thought as he slowly drifted away. All the sounds started to muffle, they seemed really far away and soon enough he was sleeping soundly.

 

He woke up several hours later, the sun was already dropping in the sky. Aomine was stepping on the fire he had managed to make. Kagami let out a cough that had him tasting blood. 

 

Kagami took his hand to his throat letting out a groan of pain. Aomine looked back at him and saw that he had produced the same cup of tea Takao had offered him the other day. Shadow was still beside him and a wet compress fell from his forehead and into his lap. 

 

Kagami looked at it before looking back at Aomine. The general shoved the cup into his hand. 

 

“Drink it.” he ordered “Now.” 

 

Kagami furrowed his eyebrows. 

 

“I swear to the gods, if you drop it, I will make you lick it from the earth.” Aomine growled. 

 

Kagami had no doubt the other man would do that without even blinking twice. He looked at the beverage with a suspicious stare. 

 

Kagami looked at Aomine and then he placed the rim of the cup on his lips. The warmth soothed his throat so much he felt tears accumulating in his eyes from the relief. The infusion was like magic. His throat instantly felt much better and the fever seemed to recede in matter of seconds. 

 

Kagami’s eyes widened and he looked at Aomine with an awed expression. 

 

“What the hell?” he asked. 

 

Aomine scoffed and looked away. 

 

“Magic.” he said “Now get up, we’re starting the march again.” 

 

Kagami felt his whole body crack and groan as he stood up to his feet. His knees were trembling. He had to clench his jaws to not let out a single groan past his lips. Shadow stood up in a swift motion after him and nodded with its head letting out a huff.

 

Kagami looked back at it. 

 

“Thank you.” he said, to the horse. 

 

Aomine placed the saddle back on Shadow’s back as Kagami went to untie his mare. He took the helmet and placed it on once again. The rash ached with the motion and Kagami clicked his tongue in annoyance. 

 

The horns started to blow, rallying the troops together. 

 

///

 

The march that led down the mountains was just as hard if not more than the one climbing them. The torches were lit once again and the drums set the pace of the march. Aomine, Wakamatsu and Imayoshi had started their pacing up and down the column. 

 

The main body of the army was already on the grassland when the sound of thunder rumbled above them. Kagami looked upwards, small drops of rain started to fall from the skies and started to clink on his armour. 

 

His throat had bettered since he had drunk the tea Aomine had made and his fever had stabilized.

 

“Mount!” Wakamatsu’s voice bellowed over the roaring wind. 

 

All of the Touou warriors mounted their horses in a swift motion. Kagami followed them. He wished he had his cape when he saw the rest of the soldiers pushing the cloth they owned around themselves to keep their warmth and cover their armours from the pouring rain. 

 

They had been walking the entire night. The first lights of morning were breaking in the horizon when they continued to march in the rain towards the main city of Lyran. Kagami urged his mare forward to keep with the arrangement they had taken when they rode on horseback. 

 

He saw Aomine at the head of the column and Kagami took his place beside him. He didn’t have the spear that Aomine carried with him nor the shield but he knew that if a battle was going to break they would have to arm him. 

 

Part of him was wishing for that conflict to take place. Not because he enjoyed killing in the least. But because he would be occupied with something else that wasn’t thinking over and over again about what he had lost. If he was focused on surviving, there wasn’t a place for mourning in his head. 

 

Aomine looked at him and grunted when he saw him there. The march was faster than the one on foot. The thunder broke again in the sky but there wasn’t any lighting so Kagami knew that there was still time before the storm was on them. 

 

“We will have to camp in a few hours!” Aomine said to him practically screaming. “We will rest for an entire day before marching on to the city!” 

 

Kagami nodded and they continued to move forward. In the distance, Kagami started to make the outline of the city. They started to pass abandoned farms and small settlements as they continued forward. 

 

Kagami started to get a bad feeling as they kept marching forward. The farms looked like they had been abandoned a while ago. The vines covered the soil and the weeds grew wild all over. 

 

By the look on Aomine’s eyes and the one of the soldiers around him, no one was thinking anything of it. Kagami’s frown accentuated when he saw a house with a number placed on it in a white paint. 

 

The rain trickled inside his armour and wetted his clothes. The sting of the water on the rash made by the armour, made him squint and adjust in his seat. 

 

“There’s something strange here” Kagami said to Aomine. 

 

The wind passed by them with strength. Kagami felt his skin freeze. The fever wouldn’t get better if he kept exposing himself to the elements. But it wasn’t like there was a choice. 

 

Aomine craned his neck to look at him. 

 

“What?” He asked 

 

Kagami pointed at the house farm they were passing in that moment. 

 

“Those numbers” He said “We do that when there’s disease.” 

 

His throat was felt like fire as he spoke. Aomine followed his finger and a frown started to form in his brow. He grunted and then stepped away from the line he turned around with Shadow and his eyes travelled the column. 

 

“Wakamatsu!” he bellowed. 

 

Kagami craned his neck. Wakamatsu wasn’t far from them. He stepped away from the column and approached them swiftly. 

 

“Take over the column.” Aomine ordered before turning towards Kagami. “You, follow me.” 

 

And with that he rushed forward. Kagami reacted slower than usual but he stepped out of the line and followed Aomine at full gallop. All his muscles screamed with effort. The armour bit into his skin painfully and the roar of the wind became fiercer as the rain fell down on him strongly. 

 

They flashed by the men and women like arrows. Kagami saw the head of the column with the empress at front a few minutes later. Riko, beside her. Aomine slowed his pace and made his way towards them. 

 

“Satsuki.” He said to bring her attention. 

 

She was travelling like her soldiers were. Her clothes had changed since the last time he had seen her. She wore an armour of her own with a fur cape to protect her from the rain and wind. Her hair was braided back from her face until the middle of her head and then it was loose to her waist. 

 

“Dai-chan.” she said, looking back to him. 

 

Kagami looked between them and then remembered how Takao had addressed his lover. “Shin-chan”. He felt a wave of shock travel through him at the realization. It made sense how they behaved around each other. 

 

“Tell her what you said to me.” Aomine ordered. 

 

The eyes of the empress were on him. As well as the eyes of her whole entourage. Kagami swallowed. 

 

“Those numbers.” he said to her “The ones painted on the doors.”

 

She nodded. 

 

“My people use them when there’s an epidemic, to signal how many non-infected are inside one house” Kagami said “These farms have been abandoned for months.” 

 

He continued. 

 

“This is not because of the coming war.” his expression was grim.

 

Kagami’s voice had cracked a few times through his explanation. The empress regarded him for a moment before her eyes turned to look at Aomine. The rain fell with more strength. 

 

“We will camp soon.” She said “We will hold a meeting with the rest of the generals and wait for Kuroko’s report.” 

 

Aomine nodded and turned towards Kagami. 

 

“Go back, warn Wakamatsu and build a tent.” he ordered Kagami, like he was some kind of errand boy. 

 

Kagami gritted his teeth together, but didn’t argue Aomine’s orders. There wasn’t anything he wanted more than to get away from the filthy rain once and for all. 

 

He shifted his mare backwards and spurred her on to gallop their way back. The unsettling feeling in his chest grew. If there was an epidemic, they had been exposed to it since the moment they stepped onto the territory. His throat ached badly. 

 

Kagami tried to even out his breath. The wind and the rain flapped against his armour and wetted his face.  

 

He remembered the last time a blood fever had raked Seirin’s lands during his childhood years. A chill went down his spine. One could fight against men, but diseases were the punishment of the gods. One couldn’t fight against gods.  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so... School is destroying me so there's a high probability that I won't answer comments because I'm just a big ball of stress right now... but just so you know... I love your comments guys! Each and everyone of them! and I just want to thank you SOSOSO much for reading my shit and enjoying it... you can't even imagine... Anyway! I hope you liked this chapter... It's probably all over the place because I literally wrote it in like... one day.... but idk... I thought it was good enough? 
> 
> Ps- I hope I don't take another 5months to update CCCCCCC: I'M SO SORRY!!!!!!!!!! I don't what happened but I just couldn't write SHIT for this story ToT FORGIVE ME!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> I know that this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but still, to whomever that has enjoyed it. Thank you so much for reading I'll see you on the next chapter! 
> 
> I'd really love to read some comments about what you thought about it. It's my first endevour into such a violent and explict theme. I'm happy with the result but I want to know what you guys thought. :D 
> 
> Ps- To everyone that's reading "It could be worse" I'm planning on updating next week. ^^


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